Untitled 13
by fanficaddicted
Summary: Post Twelve Sharp. Babefic but kind to Morelli. Stephanie wakes in the middle of the night, what does she find? Could it really be him? Now Steph and Ranger both find themselves a target. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
1. Chapter 1

As of yet **Untitled 13 Story**

By Heidi

_**Chapter One**_

I awoke with a start, heart pounding, eyes wide with fright. My hair was soaked in sweat, curls clung to my face. My sheet and light weight comforter were wrapped tight around my legs, my arms caught up in their confines. As I worked my way out of the tangle I fought to clear the fog from my brain. There had been a noise, I'm pretty sure of it, something loud enough to wake me. The only light in the apartment was from the nightlight in the bathroom.

I sat up slowly, holding my breath, trying to listen for any little sound. I waited and listened. Nothing.

It must have just been the night terror. I had obviously had one, the sweat and tangled bedding was a sure sign. They were nothing new to me.

The night terrors started the night that Scrog shot Ranger as I watched, completely helpless. I've had nightmares before, after the Slayer incident and after Con Stiva locked me in a casket. Come to think of it, I have had more nightmares than I care to remember. The one good thing, if you can call anything about a night terror good, is that, although I wake up terrified, I can never remember what the dream was about. I have a sneaking suspicion that they involve Edward Scrog and losing Ranger from my life.

I stood up on shaky legs, walking into the kitchen for a glass of water. As I let the cool liquid run down my parched throat, my gaze was inadvertently drawn to _that_ spot. The place where Ranger lay covered in his own blood. The blood stains had been washed away but the icy chill that gripped my heart each time I thought about that night, I knew would never thaw.

I dropped a few Cheerios into Rex's cage. He took a break from his midnight run long enough to load up his cheeks then went right back to the wheel. You have to admire Rex's dedication to his exercise regimen.

I clicked off the kitchen light and after a quick stop in the bathroom, I got busy remaking my bed.

I grabbed the bottom edge of the comforter and flipped it up in the air to straighten it. As the blanket settled onto the bed I saw a piece of paper flutter to the floor. What the heck could that be? The room was only dimly lit, just a small bedside lamp shone but it was enough to see what was on the page. My heart stopped and my stomach cramped into a sickening knot as I gazed down at the paper and into the soulless eyes of Edward Scrog.

It was a copy of Scrog's mug shot on the top half of the page and on the bottom, a handwritten message. The message read

_Honey, I'm home. It's time for me to finish my work. We will go to the angels together. I love you._

Black dots swam in front of my eyes and the clanging in my head followed the pounding beat of my heart. Shit, don't pass out now Steph. I sank down onto the bed, grabbing my cell from the night table. I managed to hit the speed dial for #1 as I put my head between my legs.

"Yo" came Ranger's sleepy response after one ring.

I was struggling to breath, speaking seemed impossible.

"Ranger" I managed to squeak out around the tightness in my throat.

"Babe, what's wrong?" His voice was calm but more aware. I heard the sound of fabric rustling as Ranger went on high alert, probably throwing back the covers and jumping out of bed.

"Someone was here, a little while ago, they left a note, and-and a picture, I don't know if they're gone" I said in a rushed whisper.

"Steph, I'm on my way. I'm alerting my men as we speak. Do you have your gun with you Babe?"

"It's in the kitchen."

I walked cautiously back into the kitchen grabbing my gun from the cookie jar.

"I have it." My hands were shaking as I checked for bullets, I didn't think there were any in it. "It's loaded, I don't know why but it's loaded."

"Guns are no good without bullets Babe. Use your gun if you need to, I know you can do it."

"Steph, I'm about five minutes out. There's a good chance Manuel and Zero will beat me there. Where are you Babe?"

"I'm in the kitchen with Rex, safety in numbers right?" I tried to laugh but it sounded strangled even to me.

"Ok, stay right there, the guys may break down the door so I want you to stay back."

"O-o-ok, Ranger" I stuttered, my thoughts going back to another night waiting for someone to come through my apartment door.

"You're gonna be ok Babe, talk to me."

"What time is it?" I asked, not bothering to look up at the microwave to see for myself, not really caring anyway.

"It's about 3:30. Babe, I'm almost there, I'm pulling into the lot now. It looks like the guys are on their way up."

Just then I heard Manuel call out "Steph, stay back, we're coming in" followed by a loud crash and the sound of splintering wood.

Manny and Zero came crashing through the door, guns the size of bazookas raised at the ready. They took off into the apartment, searching high and low like a scene from SWAT.

"They're here Ranger" I breathed on a sigh.

"I'm on the stairs, I'll be right there" Ranger said, his voice soothing in my ear.

Manny walked into the kitchen lowering his gun. "All clear, there's no one here now Steph" he said.

Ranger rushed through the open door walking straight to me.

"Are you ok?" he asked, concern in his voice.

I locked eyes with him and nodded, "I am now." If only my shaking hands and queasy insides would get the message.

Ranger took the gun from my hands and placed it on top of Rex's cage then gathered me into his arms. I crumpled against him. He made me feel safe. Sheesh, when did I become such a wuss? I don't care, I told myself, it felt good to be held so I soaked up his strength with all I had.

Ranger held me close his face nuzzling in my tangled hair, hands rubbing my back reassuringly. I held him just as tight. I have never been as happy as I am in his arms, I thought to myself absently, only half-conscious that there were other people in the apartment. When I was with Ranger like this, nothing else mattered, no one else existed. Ranger continued to stroke my back and I continued to cling to him like a lifeline.

And that's exactly how Morelli found us some time later.

_A/N - Please read and review! This is my first attempt at a full-length story and the first time I have posted one chapter at a time. Thanks! _


	2. Chapter 2

As of yet **Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously **_

_Ranger held me close his face nuzzling in my tangled hair, hands rubbing my back reassuringly. I held him just as tight. I have never been as happy as I am in his arms, I thought to myself absently, only half-conscious that there were other people in the apartment. When I was with Ranger like this, nothing else mattered, no one else existed. Ranger continued to stroke my back and I continued to cling to him like a lifeline._

_And that's exactly how Morelli found us some time later._

_**Chapter Two**_

"What the **_HELL_** is going on here??" Morelli yelled, his anger unrestrained.

I reflexively tried to jump away but Ranger held tight.

I lifted my head to look at him, his eyes searched mine. With one final reassuring squeeze he released me.

"I'm going to go take a look around Babe. Yell if you need me" Ranger said then turned and left the room.

"What the hell is going on Steph? Its 4:00 in the fucking morning, I'm sound asleep and I get a call from dispatch. One of your neighbors just reported loud banging, like someone breaking down a door, then a second neighbor calls to say the building is being overrun by terrorists! I knew it had to be you, who else in this building has this kind of bullshit going on in their life?"

"So I jump out of bed, rush over here and when I get here some overly muscled thug with a tattoo on his head tries to tell me I can't come in!"

"And _THEN_" Morelli's voice had been steadily rising, by now he was flat out screaming "I walk in here and what do I find? I find you in Manoso's arms looking like there's no place in the world you'd rather be! I want some answers Stephanie and I want them _NOW_!" Morelli was panting, his face an unpleasant shade of red.

Oh no, I have had enough at this ungodly hour! I stood up straight, squared my shoulders and yelled right back.

"Maybe if you would just **_SHUT_** **_UP_** and let me **_SPEAK_**, I would tell you what the **_HELL_** is going on Morelli!"

We stared at each other, anger slowly going from boil to simmer. Then Joe nodded his head. I took that as a sign to go on, so I did.

I told him about waking up to a noise, thinking it was nothing and then coming back and finding the paper in my bedroom. I got as far as the part where I called Ranger and Morelli held up his hand in a stop motion.

"Ya know what Steph, I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear any more. Why is it that whenever you need something you immediately turn to him, huh? You never call me, always him. I'm a _COP_ for chrissake! I can take care of my own girlfriend! But you never ask, you always go to him first."

Morelli's voice was a normal speaking volume, but the tone was laced with indignation and disgust.

"I don't know Joe, I was panicked, I was barely able to breathe, never mind make a call. I thought I was going to pass out. I just hit speed dial number one. It was an unconscious decision."

"No Steph, it wasn't." Joe said shaking his head sadly. "Let me ask you something Steph, what speed dial number am **_I_** on your phone?"

I hesitated and then quietly admitted "You're number two Joe".

"And there it is Steph. I'm number two, that says it all." Joe hung his head, looking defeated.

I wanted to say something to comfort him, deny it, but I couldn't. I do always go to Ranger first.

"Well" Joe said clearing his throat "since I'm obviously not needed here, I'm heading home to get some sleep. Carl and Big Dog are here, they'll handle the case." He turned his back and was about to walk out the door.

"Joe, wait" I pleaded, I didn't want it to end like this.

"Steph, don't. I love you. We could have a great life together but it's never going to happen, you won't let it happen. I'll never be enough for you. I won't hang around anymore and be the second most important man in your life. I'm sorry Cupcake."

"Joe, I do love you, it's just…"

"I know Steph, but you love Manoso more." Joe said with startling sincerity then turned and walked out the door.

I froze at his words, just stood there completely stunned. Well the good news was that I had almost completely forgotten about my latest stalker, the bad news was not only had Joe just given up on me, on our future, but he also just blurted out my feelings for Ranger for everyone to hear. Feelings that I myself was not even prepared to hear aloud. I looked around quickly and it didn't _look_ like anyone was within earshot. Ranger, Manny and Zero were in my bedroom with Carl and Big Dog and the crime scene guys. A couple of Merry Men were standing guard outside in the hall.

"Shit" I said squeezing my eyes shut tight. I walked back into the kitchen and bent over, elbows and forehead on the counter, hands threaded together behind my head. The chill of the tile on my forehead was a stark contrast to the heat of the tears that silently rolled down my cheeks. Can my life get any worse? Wait Steph, don't say that, you're starting to sound like your mother. I resisted the urge to whine _Why me_ and stood up, pulling myself together.

I went to the kitchen sink and splashed some cold water on my face and blotted it dry with a towel. When I turned around I found Ranger standing in the doorway, hip leaning against the frame, arms crossed over his chiseled chest.

He didn't approach me. He seemed to recognize that I needed a little space and for that I was grateful. I felt like if he held me just then I might have a breakdown. If Ranger had heard what Joe said, he didn't let on.

I blew out a breath and took a couple steps toward him, "So…" I said.

"Let's sit" Ranger said leading me to the living room couch, hand at the small of my back. He grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the couch and tucked it around me once I was settled, taking a seat next to me.

"The point of entry was the bedroom window. A small hole was cut with a glass cutting tool just large enough to fit a hand through to unlock it. The interesting part is that whoever this was actually went to the trouble to tape over the hole afterward."

"Hey, nice of him to worry about my energy bills" I joked but my heart just wasn't in it.

My skin was crawling and I couldn't suppress the shiver that ran up my spine at the thought of some sicko in my bedroom watching me sleep. Ranger saw the shiver and pulled me tight against his side, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, rubbing heat into my arm.

"It looks like he went back out the way he came in. The chain was engaged on the front door when the guys broke it down. The window was taped from the outside so he probably did it on his way out before leaving down the fire escape."

"What about the present he left behind?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to know. What I really wanted to do was go back to sleep and then wake up and realize this was all a bad dream.

"It's a photocopy of Scrog's mug shot, probably copied from the newspaper article that ran right after his arrest. We don't know at this point whose writing it is. The CSI guys are going to compare it to samples from Scrog's scrapbook and arrest statements. It could just be some wacko person familiar with the case taking advantage, trying to scare you."

I looked at Ranger like he was insane.

"Of course it's some kind of copycat. Scrog is in jail waiting for his trial, but who could it be, who would know the things he said to me?"

As I watched Ranger something passed across his face I couldn't identify, but I didn't like it. I had a feeling there was something he didn't want to tell me.

"What aren't you telling me Ranger?" I asked, holding my breath, afraid of the answer.

"I made a call to a contact at Trenton State Prison. It appears that Scrog may have escaped" Ranger said, watching me closely for a reaction. I was stunned.

"He was last seen at lights out bed checks at 9:30 P.M., but when they went to confirm his location after I called some 15-20 minutes ago, he wasn't in his cell."

I made a strangled sound in my throat and fought to keep my hysteria under control. I have been stalked by many a psycho, but Scrog was the worst. He didn't just want me, he wanted Ranger and that thought made my blood run cold.

"They have the prison on lockdown and they're searching it now. He could still be there somewhere" Ranger said, but we both knew that wasn't likely.

I finally spoke "But, but, if Scrog is free then not only could he come after me but you could be a target too Ranger and _OHMIGOD_ Julie!" I said on a gasp.

Ranger pulled his arm away and instead reached out and took my hands into his, giving them a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm on top of it Babe. Ron and Rachel upgraded their security after the kidnapping and I already have two men on guard duty as of 15 minutes ago." He continued to hold my hands, thumbs rubbing gentle circles.

"It all makes sense Ranger. It has to be him. Look at what the letter said, it is all things he said to me before. He said he has to finish his work! His work is to kill you Ranger, that's what he told me and Julie!"

I jumped up from the couch and started pacing. "You have to hide Ranger, he can't take you away from me! I'll kill him with my bare hands before I let that happen! How can this be happening, how do you escape from a maximum security prison? The prison's job is to keep people in, what good is a prison that murderers can get out of?"

I was getting hysterical. This was so not good! Shit! I need to sleep, I can't take this! I'm so tired!

"Steph" Ranger said seriously drawing my attention back to him. I stopped mid-pace.

Ranger stood and continued "I'd like you to come back to Rangeman with me. We still don't know for sure that it's Scrog but if it is, we know that he has skills. I think it would be best to go to Rangeman until we get more of an idea what we're up against. Please, Babe."

The tone of his voice was so serious, his eyes pleaded with me to do the right thing. I didn't answer him right away. I don't want to be locked up while Ranger is out putting himself in danger but I want to be safe and Ranger makes me feel safe, even when I'm not.

"If you would prefer, we could stay here. I will stay here with you. It isn't as safe as Rangeman but we'll make it work" he said.

When I thought about it I didn't really want to stay here. My apartment didn't feel like home anymore. Ranger's shooting haunted me constantly and it just felt empty without him here. I used to look at my apartment as my independence, a place I could always escape to for solitude, it had never before felt lonely, but since that night it did. As long as I could take Rex, it didn't matter where I stayed and Rangeman was the safest choice. I had no desire to go to the angels with Scrog in the near future.

Ranger was silent, watching my mental gymnastics.

"No, that's ok" I said looking up at him. "Rex and I will go home with you." Then I had an uncomfortable thought. Ranger had asked me to go back to Rangeman and here I am inviting myself into his personal living space, what if he meant to give me a 4th floor apartment? I looked away, a blush creeping over my cheeks.

"Babe, look at me. I told you before that you are welcome in my apartment any time, I wouldn't have given you a key if I didn't mean it. I'm glad that you and Rex are coming home with me." Ranger crooked an arm around my neck and kissed me on the top of my head.

"Go ahead and pack a bag, then we'll get going. I don't know about you but I could use some sleep. My men will lock up when Carl and Big Dog are done. You can go to the station tomorrow to sign your statement. Someone will be here shortly to repair your door and replace your window glass and Ram will stay here until that's done.

When Ranger let his arm drop I shivered from the cold air in the apartment. Ranger pulled the black hooded sweatshirt he was wearing over his head and pulled it down over mine, helping me get the sleeves on.

"Thanks" I said on a sigh. The sweatshirt was warm from his body heat and smelled deliciously like Ranger. It was almost as good as being in his arms.

I walked into my bedroom where crime scene techs were photographing the window and dusting for prints. The paper was in an evidence bag on the bed as well as what must be the tape from the window.

"Ok if I pack a bag?" I asked Big Dog.

"Yeah Steph, no problem" he replied.

I grabbed my duffle bag from the closet and went to the dresser to load it up. Good thing I just did laundry!

I threw in 2-3 days worth of jeans, long sleeved shirts, socks and undies and 2 pairs of pajamas. They were stretchy cotton yoga pants with matching tank tops, one black one grey. A stop at my closet for my boots and warm coat, then to the bathroom for toiletries and I was packed.

I looked down at myself and realized I had been walking around in a pair of SpongeBob boxers and an old ratty t-shirt that was worn practically see-through from old age. Huh, no wonder Ranger gave me his sweatshirt, I was putting on a show for all to see.

I pulled on a pair of black sweatpants over the boxers and took a deep sniff of Ranger's sweatshirt for courage before going to leave.

I walked into the entry hall and stuffed my feet into sneakers. I pulled on my coat and hung my purse and duffle over my shoulder. I peered into the kitchen at Ranger. He had Rex's cage under one arm, box of hamster nuggets sitting on top. He had a silent conversation with Zero and then smiled at me.

"All set Babe?"

"Yeah, I could really use some sleep, I think about 10 hours should do!"

Ranger took my duffle from my shoulder and we exited the apartment. When we stepped through the door Cal and Hal flanked us and the four of us proceeded down to the lobby. The sun was just starting to come up. The sky was absolutely beautiful. The fall air was crisp and I could see my breath puffing like a steam train.

I saw Ranger's badass black truck parked in the front row. Cal and Hal had guns drawn and as we exited the door Lester Santos and Bobby Brown exited their Rangeman Explorer and surrounded us, completing out security detail.

They were shielding us with their bodies. They whisked me to the passenger seat, buckled me in and placed Rex's cage on my lap. Cal and Hal stayed at my door while Bobby and Lester escorted Ranger to the driver's side. He climbed behind the wheel and turned the engine over. Lester and Bobby and Cal and Hal jumped into their SUVs and our little parade pulled out of the lot. Lester and Bobby in the front, us in the middle and Cal and Hal bringing up the rear.

Ranger quickly went into his driving zone, but there was something I felt that I needed to say.

"Thank you for taking precautions to protect yourself too Ranger. I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to you."

He glanced at me and I quietly admitted what I had been denying for so long "I love you".

_A/N - Thank you all for the awesome reviews! You really know how to bolster a girl's confidence! I hope you enjoy chapter 2 :). _


	3. Chapter 3

As of yet **Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_Ranger quickly went into his driving zone but there was something that I felt I needed to say._

"_Thank you for taking precautions to protect yourself too Ranger. I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to you."_

_He glanced at me and I quietly admitted what I had been denying for so long "I love you."_

_**Chapter Three**_

Ranger's eyes were bright, happy. A small smile spread across his face. He reached over and took my left hand in his. He raised it to his lips, kissing the palm then he threaded our fingers together and rested our hands on the center console. He didn't say anything, just turned his attention back to the road.

The rest of the ride was completed in comfortable silence. Ranger's hand was warm in mine and made me feel content. A small sigh escaped my lips. I felt like a burden had been lifted from my heart. Now if, heaven forbid, anything were to happen to either one of us, no matter what, Ranger will know that I loved him.

We followed Bobby and Lester into the Rangeman underground parking garage and parked in one of Ranger's personal spaces.

Ranger kissed my hand again before letting it go to put the truck in park and turn off the engine.

"Don't get out yet Babe. Wait for Hal and Cal to come to your door."

As if on cue Cal opened my door and took Rex from my lap. Hal helped me out, gun at the ready in the other hand. We walked around the back of the truck and found Ranger standing with Lester and Bobby. I was carrying my purse while Ranger now carried my duffle bag and Rex.

The six of us squeezed into the elevator. We stopped on the fifth floor to let Cal, Hal Lester and Bobby off.

Ranger said "We'll be offline until noon. Tank's in charge."

"Thanks guys" I called out as they made their retreat. I received four salutes and smiles in return.

The elevator opened on the seventh floor and I stepped out before Ranger and then stepped aside so he could unlock the door.

"Do you have your key Babe?" Ranger asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry."

I unlocked the door and walked into the foyer, placing my keys in the silver dish on the sideboard.

I hung my coat in the hall closet and set my purse on the sideboard next to the silver dish.

I watched Ranger walk into the kitchen and place Rex on the counter. He filled Rex's water bottle with fresh water and fished a few baby carrots out of the refrigerator and dropped them in his cage. I liked watching Ranger do domesticated things. A couple years ago it would have seemed out of character but after getting to know him better and living with him briefly, it seemed to fit him perfectly. Ranger was a man of many talents.

I grabbed my duffle off of the floor and dropped it in Ranger's bathroom. I could see that the bedroom light had been left on and Ranger's side of the bed was rumpled and unmade. It was obvious he had left in a hurry. Strangely the other side of the bed remained smooth and untouched. Hmm, I thought, he saves my place in bed even when I'm not here. Mental sigh.

I felt Ranger come up behind me, his body skimming my back. He rested his hand at the base of my neck and asked "Do you want something to eat Babe or do you just want to go to sleep?"

I glanced at the alarm clock and saw that it was just after 6:00 in the morning. Bleck!

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I think I'm too tired to eat! I just want to crash, I'm totally exhausted!"

I heard Ranger chuckle as I went into the bathroom to take care of business.

With my bladder empty and breath fresh I walked back into the bedroom to find that Ranger was already under the covers. He was on the pillow on his side of the bed and he had turned down the covers on my side for me.

I slid between the sheets, laying on my side facing Ranger. I pulled the covers up to my chin and let out and involuntary moan.

"I love you sheets" I said, only the word sheets turned into a huge, very unladylike yawn.

"Sorry Ranger, I couldn't control myself."

"You have that problem a lot when you're in bed with me don't you Babe?" Ranger said, almost smile playing on his lips.

I rolled my eyes at him and said "Goodnight Ranger".

He turned off the bedside light and replied "Sweet dreams Babe."

-----------------------

I awoke sometime later to the sound of my cell phone ringing somewhere in the apartment. To hell with it, whoever it is can wait! I was far too comfortable to move. I was warm and cozy. I felt like I was cocooned in heat and, wait a minute, this isn't a pillow I'm laying on, pillows don't have warm, smooth, sexy smelling skin.

I opened one eye and looked up into Ranger's smiling face.

"Oops, sorry" I said but I didn't make any move to get up.

"I'm not" Ranger said and pulled me even tighter to him.

Ranger was on his back, arms wrapped around me, one across my shoulders, the other low on my back touching bare skin.

I was on my side, my head resting on Ranger's chest, my left leg was flung over him laying disturbingly close to his "excellent package" as Grandma Mazur calls it. My left arm was draped across his chest and before I realized what I was doing my fingers started stroking his chest, tracing circles around his nipple.

"Babe" Ranger growled and then he kissed me. His tongue parted my lips which opened willingly.

Ranger rolled so that he was on top of me, his hands tangled in my hair, his body weighing firmly on mine. My body was on fire and I could feel the proof of Ranger's desire pressing against my thigh. I slid my hands down his back and underneath his boxers giving his tight ass a squeeze, pulling him harder against me.

Ranger suddenly pulled back with a groan and rolled off of me. He lay spread-eagle on his back, hands over his head as he struggled to regain his composure. Me, I was just laying there friggin' confused!

My lips were swollen from his kiss, my face felt scratchy from his stubble and my heart pounded with the beat of my desire.

For a few minutes we both lay there panting, neither one of us speaking. Hell, I don't think I was capable of speech at that point.

Ranger sat up so his back was against the headboard, his knees bent up in front of him, covered with blankets from the waist down.

He glanced down at me where I lay, still flat on my back, still breathing heavily.

Ranger gave his head a small shake and said with a grin "That may be the greatest feat of self control I have ever accomplished."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because there is nothing I would like more than to get naked and stay in bed with you for the rest of the day, maybe longer, but somehow I managed to stop, even while your hands were on my ass."

"No, I mean why did you stop?"

Ranger blew out a long breath. "We probably should talk Steph. I don't want to take advantage of you. You had a real scare last night and then you had a fight with Morelli and although you certainly seem willing right now, I think that if we made love you'd regret it. Then I'd regret making you feel that way. I don't want it to happen this way. I want to know that you're ready and want it for the right reasons."

"Hunh" I said biting my bottom lip. I jumped out of bed, calling over my shoulder "I'm just going to go take a quick shower massage, um, I mean shower!"

As I showered I pondered what Ranger said. I know that he's right, if I let myself think it through. I just never thought that he would reject a sexual advance from me. All the time I was with Morelli I thought that he would take me to bed without hesitation if given the chance. And now, Morelli is out of the picture and Ranger wants to talk. Err, men! Thank god for shower massagers!

I took a long hot shower and emerged in a much calmer state. I dressed in jeans and a black long-sleeved button-up shirt. I scrunched some gel into my hair, applied two coats of mascara and went out to the kitchen in search of food.

I found Ranger sitting at the breakfast bar, cup of coffee in hand, reading the paper. I walked over to Rex to tell him good morning and feed him but I saw he was already taken care of.

Ranger poured me a cup of coffee, added cream and handed it to me. "Ella should be here in five with food" he said.

Ranger lowered his voice to that sexy bedroom tone and asked, lips close to my ear, "How was your shower Steph? Did you _enjoy_ yourself?"

My eyes glazed over at the sound of his voice and the feel of his breath on my ear. When what he was asking registered, I felt a blush start at the roots of my hair. Then I thought, he has some nerve to tease me! Two can play at this game!

I made my voice breathy and looked at him hotly "_Oh yeah_, I enjoyed myself _very_ much Ranger. The water was _so hot_ and _wet_ and the soap made my skin _so slippery._ I just couldn't keep my fingers from sliding _all over_ my slick body. Oh, and you have an _incredible_ showerhead Ranger!"

Ranger crushed me to him claiming my mouth with his. The kiss was hot and bone melting. His hands started to roam down my body. He broke the kiss suddenly when Ella knocked twice then let herself in.

I looked at him with an evil grin.

"That wasn't very nice Babe."

"I know Ranger, it wasn't meant to be. I was just returning the favor. You know what they say, paybacks are a bitch" I said with a wink.

"You are an evil woman Stephanie Plum" he said then spanked me playfully seconds before Ella walked into the room.

"Hello Stephanie dear, it is lovely to see you again!"

"Thank you Ella, it's nice to see you too."

Ella whizzed around the kitchen picking out plates, glasses and utensils then taking them into the dining room. Then she went about setting out food on the dining room table.

"I hope you don't mind but I thought since it is after 11:00 that brunch might be more appropriate than your usual breakfast. There are bagels and cream cheese like always but I also made spinach and cheese quiche, turkey bacon, fruit salad and roasted herb potatoes."

"Ella, that sounds amazing, thank you!" I said. "You spoil me. A girl could get used to this kind of treatment."

Ella shot Ranger a look that I couldn't figure out, then said her goodbyes and let herself out.

I refilled my coffee then joined Ranger at the table. He had traded his coffee for orange juice.

I sat down and loaded mass amounts of food onto my plate. Ranger gave me a look and I said "What, I haven't eaten in 14 hours!"

I went to work eating. Ranger spoke while he spread cream cheese on his bagel.

"There's a meeting downstairs at noon to discuss Scrog and the break-in at your apartment."

I had almost forgotten about that, shit!

"Ok, do you know anything more?" I asked.

"All I know so far is that Scrog didn't turn up at Trenton State Prison and a massive manhunt is underway. I figured we could hear the rest together when we meet with the guys."

"You mean I'm invited to the meeting?" I asked, surprised to be included.

"Of course Steph, we're in this together."

"Thanks" I said with a small smile then focused back on eating.

I leaned back in my chair, legs outstretched under the table with a contented sigh.

"Wow that was good. I think I more than made up for my 14 foodless hours!" I said.

"Babe" Ranger said with an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

By five of twelve we were ready to head down to the meeting. I grabbed my cell out of my purse and saw that I had 3 voicemail messages. They're probably from my mother, I can listen to them later, I thought and clipped it on my jeans.

Ranger reached the door just before I did. He paused with his hand on the doorknob and turned to me.

He pulled me to him and fused his lips over mine, pushing his tongue deep into my mouth exploring.

I moaned and reached up, throwing my arms around his neck. The force of it knocked him backwards into the door. I pressed against him, my left leg between his.

I traced his lower lip with my tongue then tugged on it with my teeth. Ranger's mouth moved down to my neck, trailing open kisses there. My hands were fisted in Ranger's t-shirt to keep me from falling over.

He spun us around, my back to the door and leaned into me. His hand was on my breast, I was writhing beneath him. I felt a tingle low in my belly and thought for a minute it was an orgasm. When Ranger pulled back cursing I realized it was his cell phone vibrating in his pocket.

He stood back, glancing at the display.

"Text message from Tank. They're ready to begin the meeting and we're late!"

I smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt and wiped some saliva from my neck and lips with my hand.

"How do I look?" I asked.

"You don't look like you've been making out if that's what you're wondering. Of course the guys will assume that's the case anyway. I'm never late for a meeting" he said with a smirk.

I smacked him lightly on the arm "You did that on purpose! You need to stop doing that!"

"You don't mean that Babe" Ranger said, and of course he was right!

_A/N - Thank you all for your support and glowing reviews. I am so pleased that you are enjoying my story! I hope you enjoy part 3. Part 4 to follow in the next couple of days. And see, no cliffhanger!  
_


	4. Chapter 4

As of yet **Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

"_Text message from Tank. They're ready to begin the meeting and we're late!" _

_I smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt and wiped some saliva from my neck and lips with my hand._

"_How do I look?" I asked._

"_You don't look like you've been making out if that's what you're wondering. Of course the guys will assume that's the case anyway. I'm never late for a meeting" he said with a smirk._

_I smacked him lightly on the arm "You did that on purpose! You need to stop doing that!"_

"_You don't mean that Babe" Ranger said, and of course he was right!_

_**Chapter Four**_

We rode the elevator down to the 5th floor in silence. Just before the elevator doors opened Ranger kissed me on the forehead and tucked a curl behind my ear with a smile.

"Thanks" I said returning his smile, walking down the hall toward the conference room.

Ranger opened the door to conference room one and ushered me in, his hand at the small of my back. He led me around the large board table to a seat next to his at the head of the table. As he seated me I noticed his gaze fixated on something across the room near the door. I followed his gaze and found non other than Joe Morelli standing next to a credenza pouring a cup of coffee.

Ranger shot Tank a look that screamed _Explain_, clearly not liking our surprise visitor.

"Morelli has some news pertinent to Steph's break-in. I didn't see the harm in including him at this point. He showed up a few minutes ago offering information on Scrog." Tank said in his baritone voice.

Ranger gave his head an almost imperceptible nod and Joe took a seat at the table next to Lester.

As we all settled in I looked around to take in who else was present. I saw Lester, Bobby, Cal, Hal, Manny, Zero, Ram, Tank and of course Joe. Gee, I wonder who's watching the monitors and working in the field, it seems like half of the Merry Men are in this room!

"Good afternoon gentlemen" Ranger said.

He turned to Morelli, "What can we do for you Morelli?" Ranger asked in a calm even voice, his blank face firmly in place.

Morelli was wearing his cop face but flicked his eyes to me for a moment before speaking.

"I have some information on Scrog. We believe that Scrog is responsible for the murder of a Corrections Officer from Trenton State sometime overnight last night. The guard's name was Daniel Stern and we believe he was an accomplice to Scrog's escape."

"Stern was found dead around 8:00 this morning. His body was dumped in some bushes four blocks from Stephanie's apartment building. The coroner estimates the time of death to be between 2:30 and 3:00 A.M. In fitting his murder into the timeline of Steph's break-in we can only assume that he needed to get Stern out of the way before he paid Steph a visit for one reason or another. I have been assigned to Stern's homicide case so I thought we might be able to help each other."

"We already knew that Scrog is a sick bastard. Stern was shot execution style, one bullet to the head. It was a .40 caliber bullet and was probably fired from Stern's service piece, a Glock 23. The CSI guys are running ballistics as we speak. Stern's car was found abandoned by the river, blood and grey matter on the passenger side" Joe said.

I was trying to listen to what Joe was saying but my mind was drifting away. When he said the word _execution_ I couldn't help but be drawn back to that night. I saw Scrog, empty eyes wide, nostrils flaring, smile curling his lips, standing over Ranger's prone body. Ranger was completely still, blood was flowing out of his neck, he was unconscious. It was happening in slow motion and that was even worse than real-time. I heard Scrog's dead voice say "Execution time" as he took aim at Ranger's head.

Before I realized it I had jumped back, right out of my chair, a loud sob escaping my tight throat. I was shaking, my eyes unseeing. I blinked away stinging tears. I couldn't breath, I was suffocating. I was reaching out for something to hold onto before I passed out. My hand connected with Ranger's arm.

Ranger was on his feet. "Babe...Babe its ok, you're alright, talk to me…BABE!"

Ranger's voice snapped me back to the present. I looked at him, saw he was unhurt and launched myself into his arms. Ranger held me tight, gently rocking side to side, his hand holding my head tight to him.

"Oh, god, you're ok! I thought you were dead. I won't let that happen, Scrog will never hurt you again! I'll stop him, no matter what it takes!" I was breathing hard, filled with emotion.

Ranger leaned back to look in my eyes. He wiped the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs saying "No, Babe **_we_** will stop him no matter what it takes. I told you we are in this together."

I nodded my head and snuggled into his neck, focusing on the beat of his heart. The sound calmed my nerves and I was able to pull myself together.

After a few minutes I pulled back and looked around the room. I was startled by what I had just experienced and embarrassed beyond belief at having freaked out in front of a room full of badass men.

I looked at Joe and noticed that he was also on his feet. The look on his face was positively stricken. I locked eyes with him and said softly "I'm sorry."

I turned to the rest of the room and said "I'm sorry guys, I got carried away. Just a little flashback, no harm done, I'm fine now really."

"It's no problem Steph" Tank said reassuringly.

"It's nothing we haven't seen before darlin'" Manny added.

"Yeah Steph, it's not uncommon to suffer a case of PTSD after a traumatic experience, especially given that the threat has reappeared. I think that all of us here have been through it a time or two for one reason or another" Bobby said.

"I know I have Babe, more than once."

The others all nodded, including Morelli.

I looked at Morelli again and said "I'm sorry I interrupted Joe, please go on." I just wanted to forget what just happened before I died of embarrassment. And poor Joe, what an awful thing for him to witness on more than one level.

"It's ok Steph. Shit, I'm sorry that you're going through a hard time in addition to everything else. I'm sure I haven't helped matters any. Let me know if there's anything I can do ok?" He gave his head a sad shake and then went back to business.

"The Department of Corrections is running the investigation into Scrog's prison break. Even with help from Stern it would have been difficult for Scrog to get out undetected. He was in the maximum security area of the prison. The fact that he was missing for potentially 6-1/2 hours before they were made aware of his escape makes them suspicious that more insiders were involved."

"Who knows how long it would have been before he was reported missing if you hadn't called Manoso."

I was startled by my cell phone vibrating on my jeans. Sheesh, what now? I pulled it off and looked at the display. It read _1 NEW TEXT MESSAGE_. That's strange, all of the people who send me text messages are in this room, just Ranger and some of the Merry Men.

I hit enter and the next screen read _NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM UNKNOWN SENDER_.

I went into the message itself and my heart stopped as I read.

_LISTEN TO YOUR VOICE MAIL MESSAGES. AREN'T YOU EXCITED TO HEAR MY VOICE AGAIN? WE WILL BE TOGETHER SOON. HE CAN NOT PROTECT YOU OR HIMSELF!_

_ALL MY LOVE, RANGER_

I noticed all conversation in the room had stopped, probably after seeing the look of revulsion on my face.

"A text message from Scrog, he wants me to listen to my voice mail." I said by way of explanation.

"Can you do it on speaker phone so we all can hear it?" asked Morelli.

"I don't really know how to work it. Ranger, can it be done on this phone?" He put out his hand and I handed the phone over to him.

"Are you sure you don't mind having your messages played for everyone to hear? They may not all be from Scrog." Ranger asked, always thinking.

"It's alright, if you can just skip ahead until you get to his message." Ranger nodded in response.

Ranger pressed some buttons and a computerized voice filled the room.

_**You have 3 unheard messages.**_

**_1st unheard message_** – "_Hello Stephanie, this is your Mother…" **BEEP**_, Ranger skipped ahead

**_2nd unheard message_** – "_Cupcake it's me" pause then a long sigh "Look, I'm sorry, I just…" **BEEP**, _Ranger skipped ahead, thank god!

I looked at Joe. He met my eyes for a brief second and then looked down at the table.

**_3rd unheard message_** – "_Hello Stephanie, or should I say Yo Babe. That's how he greets you isn't it. It was great seeing you again last night. Did you get my note?_

_I enjoyed watching you sleep. At first you were so peaceful but then you started getting worked up, you were having a nightmare. And I have to say it was even more fun watching the horror spread across your face. You were restless, flailing, crying in your sleep and more beautiful than ever. Then you started calling out to him and screaming Ranger! It didn't take long to realize that you were reliving that night in your apartment, the night that I almost eliminated him forever. If only I had moved just a little faster. No need to worry though, I will take him out, it is only a matter of time and then we will be together for all of eternity. And don't think that your cop boyfriend can stop me either. I saw him leave your apartment in a hurry this morning. He didn't look happy, he seemed downright heartbroken. At least that was how he looked through the night vision scope on my rifle._

_I can't wait to get friendly with you Stephanie. I remember what you look like naked from the night I changed your clothes for you while you were unconscious and I remember how soft and feminine you felt in my hands. I bet you are a real firecracker in bed, you'd have to be to have those two following you around the way they do. I can't wait to see for myself. I'll be in contact soon my love. Until then…" **end of messages.**_

I wasn't sure I was breathing by the end of his message. I was filled with equal parts of fear, disgust and fury! For a minute everyone was silent.

"Let's take a fifteen minute break everyone" I heard Ranger say. He always knows what I need, even before I do.

The expression on Ranger's face was as dark as I had ever seen it. Actually, every man in the room wore an equal look of rage. Scrog was in for a whole world of hurt one way or another!

"Actually, I could use something to drink and a bathroom break. I think I'm going to head upstairs for a few minutes." I said standing and stretching.

"Do you want me to come with you Babe?" I hesitated before I answered, not wanting to upset Ranger, but knowing there was something I needed to do.

"No Ranger, that's ok. I was actually hoping to talk to Morelli for a few minutes alone. I thought maybe he could come upstairs with me if you don't mind."

Ranger was quiet for a minute, probably trying to decide if he minded Morelli going up to his apartment alone with me. In the end he knew it would be ok.

"Sure, Babe. If you're not back in 15 minutes we'll wait for you ok. You don't need to rush. Take your time. There's sandwich stuff in the fridge if Morelli is hungry."

"Thank you Ranger" I said and pulled him to me for a tight hug.

"I'm just two floors away if you need me Babe" Ranger said, caressing my cheek with the back of his fingers.

I leaned into his ear and whispered "I always need you Ranger, I won't be long."

_A/N - Thank you to all of you who continue to read and review. You guys inspire me to work faster :). I am struggling with chapter 5 but will put it up as soon as I can. Thanks! _


	5. Chapter 5

As of yet **Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

"Let's take a fifteen minute break everyone" I heard Ranger say. He always knows what I need, even before I do.

The expression on Ranger's face was as dark as I had ever seen it. Actually, every man in the room wore an equal look of rage. Scrog was in for a whole world of hurt one way or another!

"Actually, I could use something to drink and a bathroom break. I think I'm going to head upstairs for a few minutes." I said standing and stretching.

"Do you want me to come with you Babe?" I hesitated before I answered, not wanting to upset Ranger, but knowing there was something I needed to do.

"No Ranger, that's ok. I was actually hoping to talk to Morelli for a few minutes alone. I thought maybe he could come upstairs with me if you don't mind."

Ranger was quiet for a minute, probably trying to decide if he minded Morelli going up to his apartment alone with me. In the end he knew it would be ok.

"Sure, Babe. If you're not back in 15 minutes we'll wait for you ok. You don't need to rush. Take your time. There's sandwich stuff in the fridge if Morelli is hungry."

"Thank you Ranger" I said and pulled him to me for a tight hug.

"I'm just two floors away if you need me Babe" Ranger said, caressing my cheek with the back of his fingers.

I leaned into his ear and whispered "I always need you Ranger, I won't be long."

_**Chapter Five**_

Joe followed me down the hall to the elevator.

I used my key fob to send us to the 7th floor. I was well aware that we were being monitored by the comm. room so I didn't speak.

"Listen, Steph" Joe began.

"Let's wait until we get somewhere private" I said.

Joe nodded, taking a quick look around the elevator.

We stepped out into the foyer and I said "With the exception of the 7th floor and Ranger's office the whole building is wired for sound and video."

I used my key to unlock the door. We walked inside, I closed the door behind us then set my keys down in their place.

Joe stood in the entry taking a look around. He let out a whistle and said "Nice place."

"Yeah" I said. Ella had been in to clean and a fresh bouquet of flowers in autumn colors graced the sideboard. I really do love it here I thought to myself.

"I have to pee, I'll just be a minute. Make yourself comfortable." I said then stepped into the half bath off of the hall.

I used the toilet and washed up. Then I stood looking at myself in the mirror and thought, _What the hell was I thinking inviting him up here? What am I going to say to him?_ I splashed some cold water on my face, dried off and went to face the music.

I found Morelli standing in exactly the same spot I left him.

"You could have sat on the couch you know." I said.

"I don't want to intrude Steph. I can't imagine Ranger is real thrilled that I'm in his personal space, I didn't want to push it" Joe said.

"I have to use the bathroom myself anyway" he said heading in that direction.

I went into the kitchen and said hello to Rex. When I heard the bathroom door open I called out "In the kitchen".

Joe took in the top of the line appliances and marble counter tops and said "This place almost makes me want to cook a meal" in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Have you had lunch? Ranger said that there's sandwich stuff in the fridge if you're hungry" I said opening the fridge, fishing out a bottle of diet coke.

I put it on the breakfast bar where Joe was seated then turned to get two glasses form the cabinet. I heard Joe's stool scrape across the floor and turned around to find him standing right in front of me.

For a minute we just stood there, looking each other in the eye, all of the time we spent together playing like a movie in our minds. I could see the good and bad emotions pass across his face.

Joe reached out and took the glasses from my hands, placing them on the breakfast bar with the soda. He gathered me into his arms, crushing his body against me. He rested his cheek on top of my curls and held on tight for all he was worth. I held him back just as tight.

"This is so hard" I said with a sniffle, slow tears falling down my cheeks onto Joe's shirt.

"It's ok Cupcake, you don't have to say anything. Just let me hold you a little longer. I can't let go" Joe said, voice tight with emotion.

We stood there holding each other for a few minutes. Joe was the first to pull away.

"I didn't mean to make you cry Steph. Shit, I hate when you cry" Joe said with a tight smile.

I returned his tiny smile and swiped at my tears with my hands. "Shit, sorry"

"How about that sandwich?" Joe said. "I'm starved!"

Laughing I went to the fridge pulling out roast beef, cheese, lettuce and spicy mustard. I heard Joe pour the sodas and grab the bag of Sun Chips from the counter.

I dumped everything onto the breakfast bar then grabbed plates and napkins.

We worked together to make sandwiches and put the fixings away.

We sat down at the breakfast bar to eat. Joe took a big bite of his sandwich and I just sat their watching him.

"You gonna eat or are you just gonna stare at me?"

"What's wrong with me Joe?"

"Huh?" Joe asked around a bite of sandwich.

"I mean, look at you. You're smart, you're successful, you're sexy as hell and to top it off, you love me! And I can't even get my head out of my ass enough to take the life that you offer. You're right, we could have a good life together Joe, but why don't I want it? What's wrong with me? You're every Burg girl's dream."

"Maybe it's because you're not a typical Burg girl Steph" Joe said matter-of-factly. "You don't have the same dreams as they do."

As I pondered that Joe finished his sandwich and chips then washed it down with diet coke.

He looked at me then continued "You did get some of your traits from growing up in the Burg. You can do hair and make-up like a pro, hell you even made Sally Sweet look good. You're nosy and stubborn which is helpful in your line of work and you appreciate a home-cooked meal, even if you can't cook one yourself."

I balled up my napkin and threw it at him. "Hey!"

"But the Burg doesn't define you. You're strong Steph, beyond reason! Can you imagine Mary Lou or Valerie surviving half the things that you've been through?" He asked.

"And yet, I still come back for more, how stupid can you be?"

"Not stupid Steph, determined, that's admirable. And you've got skills! You can take the tiniest pieces of a puzzle and fit them together, and your instincts! Your instincts are better than anyone else I have ever met, well except for maybe Ranger" he added with a smile.

His look sobered. "I'm sorry that I never told you these things before Steph, maybe it would have made a difference. You impress me in lots of ways. I'm proud of what you've become. You always take what you have and make it work and no matter what you never quit."

My throat felt tight, Joe was proud of me! Who next, my mother??

Joe blew out a breath.

"I always knew that Ranger would be happy to have a place in your bed, he looks at you the same way I do, but I didn't see the connection you two have until recently. When Scrog took you when you were trying to save Julie, Steph, I thought it was gonna be the death of him. I'd never seen Ranger with so much as a hair out of place before, he's always at the top of his game. Don't get me wrong, he was functioning like a pro as always, but you could see the agony on his face.

"He felt responsible Joe, it was his daughter, his stalker."

"You can down-play it all you want Steph, I know you're the queen of denial, but he loves you! I don't know how I missed it for so long" Joe said shaking his head.

Joe got quiet after that, almost sad.

"I'm sorry Joe. I didn't mean to hold back on you. Someone told me once that I only had 30 of you and that was all you could give anyone at that point."

"Let me guess, Ranger?" Joe asked. I nodded. "That guy doesn't miss a thing does he?"

"I don't think I ever gave you 100 either. But I feel like I did my best and gave you as much as I could at any given time. You deserve a better woman Joe, one who can give 100 to your relationship. I always ran when things got uncomfortable for me and I guess I never really took us seriously."

"Let's face it Cupcake, communication has never been our strong suit."

I laughed and said "No, I guess not."

"And I don't deserve a _better_ woman Steph, one doesn't exist. A different woman maybe, but not better."

I smiled and said "Thanks for thinking that Joe" even though I know it isn't true I added silently.

I got up to clear away the dishes and Joe got up to help.

I stood there watching Joe put the last plate in the dishwasher.

He was handsome as ever, in jeans and a blue pullover, Timberland work boots on his feet. My heart ached thinking about the end of our relationship and my breath caught in my throat when he turned and met my gaze.

We stepped toward each other at the same moment, our lips met in a tender kiss. Joe had one hand on the side of my head, the other on my hip. I clasped his shirt in my hands. The kiss went on, there was no tongue, just lips and lots of emotion. It was a kiss goodbye. We kissed for a few long moments then just held onto one another.

"So this is really it?" I asked, my head resting on his shoulder.

"I think it is Cupcake" he whispered into my hair. "I love you Stephanie and I want you to be happy. If Manoso is the one to make that happen, then he has my blessing. But if he ever hurts you, so help me, I will kill him and make it look like an accident" Morelli said, and I wasn't sure if he was kidding or not.

"I love you too. You'll find a good woman Joe, who can give you everything and make your life what you always hoped it would be. Hey, maybe you'll even find someone Grandma Bella likes" I added with an elbow to the gut as I stepped away.

I leaned back against the counter and studied him. "So we're ok?" I asked.

"No Steph, we're more than ok" Joe replied with a wink.

Joe looked at his watch. "We better get back downstairs. It's been 45 minutes and I don't want to overstay my welcome."

"Ranger told me we should take as much time as we needed, don't worry about it" I said with a smile.

I grabbed Joe by the back of the head and planted a big smacking kiss on his lips. 'Thanks Joe."

"Anything Cupcake, anytime" Joe said following me out the door.

As we exited the elevator I reached for Joe's hand and held it in mine as we entered the conference room.

All eyes snapped to us as we walked in. I saw Ranger flick a glance at our clasped hands and watched as his blank face slid into place.

Joe walked me over to Ranger who was standing on the far side of the room, near the bank of windows. Joe gave my hand one final squeeze and then let go. He extended his right hand to Ranger.

Ranger took Joe's outstretched hand in his grasp and gave it a firm shake. They did the tiny little nod thing to each other then Joe walked around the table and retook his seat.

"You alright Babe? You've been crying" Ranger said in a hushed voice as he ran his thumb over my cheekbone in a gentle caress.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm good."

I leaned against his front and his arms came around me. I rose onto my tip-toes, still in his arms, and spoke quietly into his ear. "You are the _best_ man I know Ranger, thank you."

I planted a kiss on his check, just in front of his ear, then nuzzled him a little with my nose.

Ranger squeezed me tight, a 200 watt smile on his face and then released me.

I turned to the room and said with a smile "We've got some psycho ass to kick boys, let's get to it!"

A round of _hell yeahs_ went around the room along with a _hot damn_, a wolf whistle and an _amen._

---------------

It was after 4:00 by the time we wrapped up the meeting.

Everyone had a task of one kind or another. Some of the Merry Men were working the streets trying to find out where Scrog was getting his guns since we know he has at least a rifle. Morelli was going to get the CSI reports from the break-in and his homicide crime scene and we would meet again tomorrow.

Starting tomorrow, Ranger and I would be doing things much the same as the last time we dealt with Scrog. We were going to go about our business trying to draw Scrog out of hiding. We knew his MO now, knew that he might be dressed as a woman or a man. The Trenton PD is also watching for early morning convenience store robberies since it was his trick in the past.

We figured no matter what we do, like Scrog said, he'll be in touch soon.

The good news was, Scrog didn't have any leverage this time. Julie was safely tucked away with her family under heavy guard. And, of course, the FBI and various other law enforcement agencies were involved in the hunt as well. On second thought, that could be a bad thing, too many hands in the pot, but that's not our call.

I was tired, bone-weary, coma-brain, droopy-eyed, tired. The emotions from the talk with Joe and the icky feelings conjured up by listening to Scrog's message repeatedly had overcome my second-wind from earlier.

I leaned against Ranger's side as we rode the elevator up to the apartment. He had his arm around me and was literally holding me up.

He unlocked the door and walked me straight into the bedroom.

"You're dead on your feet Babe. Go ahead and take a nap before Ella brings dinner. I have some paperwork to catch up on but I'll be in my office in the other room if you need anything" Ranger said.

I sat down on the edge of the bed. I reached down to take off my sneakers but Ranger said "Let me."

I lay back onto the pillows, on top of the comforter. Ranger untied and then pulled off each of my sneakers. He then gave each foot a little rub.

"Hehehe, that tickles!" I said laughing.

"Babe" Ranger said, and then pulled down the covers for me.

"Jeans on or off Babe? My vote is off, but it's up to you" he said on a smile?

"Yeah, I think off, I don't like sleeping in pants because they get all twisted around your legs and it's annoying" I said reaching for my button.

"Babe, let me" Ranger said again, this time with a devilish grin.

He reached down and _very_ slowly popped the button and unzipped my jeans. His hands were warm as they skimmed bare flesh low on my belly. I raised my butt so he could pull them over my hips. He slid them slowly down my legs and pulled them off over my feet. He leaned back and took in the view. I was wearing my black button-up shirt with the first couple of buttons popped and a pair of black silk panties with a small black bow on front edge, not too fancy, but pretty. Oh and let's not forget my big slouchy white gym socks, way to ruin my sex appeal!

"I love your socks Babe", Ranger said in a sexy purr, "Sexy!"

I couldn't help it, I burst into hysterical laughter. Ranger followed suit only his laughter was more restrained than mine, more of a chuckle.

Ranger reached down and pulled the covers up around me, tucking me in tightly.

He leaned down and placed a warm kiss on my lips then whispered in my ear, "Sweet dreams Babe, dream of me."

I sighed and closed my eyes. Dreams of Ranger, sounds like heaven…I was asleep almost immediately.

_A/N - I continue to be overwhelmed by your reviews! You guys are so supportive, it inspires me, really. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next one is a doozy!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

Ranger reached down and pulled the covers up around me, tucking me in tightly.

He leaned down and placed a warm kiss on my lips then whispered in my ear, "Sweet dreams Babe, dream of me."

I sighed and closed my eyes. Dreams of Ranger, sounds like heaven…I was asleep almost immediately.

_**Chapter Six**_

_Ranger was on his back, bloody, unmoving, I couldn't get out of the bindings, I couldn't do anything to help him. Scrog raised his gun, sighting it at Ranger's head "Execution time" he said. I screamed._

"Babe, Stephanie, wake up!" I heard Ranger saying, urgency in his voice.

I felt myself being shaken.

I opened my eyes to find Ranger kneeling next to the bed, his brow creased with concern.

"When I said dream of me Babe, I meant hot and sexy dreams. From the way you were crying and lashing out I don't think when you screamed out Ranger that it was in ecstasy."

"Sorry" I said embarrassed by what he'd witnessed. I sat up to try to clear my head.

"Are you ok?" Ranger asked sliding onto the bed next to me.

"I'm alright." I said then startled at a sudden realization. "I remember, I remember the dream. Oh god, I liked it better when I couldn't" I said closing my eyes for a moment.

I could feel my body trembling, my heart pounding in my chest. It was just a dream Steph, get a grip, I chastised myself.

"How long have you been having nightmares Babe?" Ranger asked sliding further up the rumpled bedding to lean against the headboard. He gathered me against his side and slid his arm around my shoulders.

I didn't really want to tell him, I didn't want to talk about my dreams. They made me feel weak and out of control of my own mind. It was bad enough I had a flashback in front of him and the Merry Men.

I was silent for a few minutes, Ranger stroked his hand up and down my arm reassuringly. Then I thought, hell Scrog told him most of it anyway so I might as well tell him. Maybe it will do some good to talk about it.

"I started having night terrors the first time I slept after Scrog shot you, it was actually in the day time the following day. I was at my parents' house resting and I woke up to find Mom, Dad and Grandma Mazur standing over me. They said I was screaming in my sleep, calling out for you and crying."

I took another breath and continued. "Up until just now, I have never been able to remember what the nightmares were about. I wake up terrified, covered in sweat, twisted up in my blankets. I had a feeling that they were about the night Scrog shot you but I never knew for sure until I heard Scrog's message today. And then this time, I remember the nightmare, every last detail of it. I was reliving that night."

Ranger pulled me tighter against him, squeezing me against his side.

"The nightmares are completely understandable Stephanie, considering what you've been through. I'm just sorry that it's happening because of me. I wish you would have told me sooner, maybe I could have done something to help."

"It felt wimpy, it still feels wimpy. I've been through awful things before, why has this been so hard for me to cope with?"

"I don't know Babe, that's something to think about" Ranger said kissing me on the head. "Ella brought dinner while you were asleep. Are you ready to eat?"

I thought about it for about a second then answered "Yeah, I could eat, big surprise huh?"

Ranger just chuckled.

"What are we having?" I asked as I climbed out of bed.

"I didn't look but it smells like chicken and Ella brought up a covered dessert dish that she says she made especially for you."

"Ooh, lucky me" I said pulling on my jeans and walking into the bathroom. I used the toilet, washed up and gave my hair a quick brush.

I found Ranger in the kitchen checking out the beverage selection. I was glad that he let the nightmare issue go for the time being.

"I think I'm going to open a bottle of wine Babe, would you like some?" Ranger asked walking over to the wine rack.

"Yeah, wine sounds good. It's been a long time since we've shared a bottle of wine" I said remembering.

"Yeah, the last time you chugged three glasses then fell asleep on me" Ranger said with a smile.

I laughed at the memory.

"Well, let's see if I can stay awake long enough to enjoy myself this time" I said with a wink.

"Babe" was his reply.

We got seated in the dining room and I lifted the lid from my dinner plate.

"Yup, it's chicken" I said. Ella had prepared what looked like herb roasted chicken, grilled vegetables and brown rice.

Ranger filled our glasses with wine and passed one to me.

"A toast?" I asked.

Ranger thought for a moment then raised his glass.

"To staying awake long enough to enjoy yourself" he said with a smile.

I smiled back and said "To moving on."

We clinked our glasses together, sipped the wine then started in on dinner.

I took a bite of chicken and closed my eyes at the deliciousness. Ella is a great cook.

We continued to eat in companionable silence. The wine was good, the food was even better.

I looked up from my dinner to find Ranger watching me, a soft expression in his eyes.

"Stephanie?"

"Hmm?" I replied.

"Did you mean what you said?"

I looked at him puzzled "When?"

"Your toast, does that mean that you're ready to move on?" Ranger looked nervous, almost uncertain. It was very unlike Ranger.

"I'm ready if you are Babe" I said to him with a wink.

Ranger was out of his seat in a flash and at my side. He pulled me up into his arms and crushed his mouth to mine. His arms were strong holding me to him, his tongue sliding along mine as if in a dance. I reached up and pulled his head tighter to me, deepening the kiss.

Ranger let out a moan and pulled back. He looked deep into my eyes "Are you sure Stephanie? I don't know what kind of future I can offer you. I may never be meat and potatoes."

I looked at him intently, trying to convey the truth of my words as I spoke "I just want you Ranger, whatever you can give, for as long as you can give it, that's enough."

His response was to attack my lips again. He seemed like he was trying to devour me. I met his hunger stride for stride.

Ranger lifted me up off of the ground and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He walked us into the bedroom never breaking the kiss.

I pulled back from the kiss and slid down Ranger's body to stand beside the bed.

Ranger reached down and slowly unbuttoned my shirt, his hands were steady and patient. He pushed the shirt off of my shoulders and it slipped down my arms to the floor.

He reached behind his back and pulled his black t-shirt over his head, tossing it aside.

I was awestruck by the sight of his perfectly chiseled chest. His dark skin looked so smooth and inviting, I couldn't help but run my hands over it. His nipples pebbled under my touch and I gave one nipple a solid pinch.

Ranger gasped then became frenzied. He sealed his mouth over mine, kissing me deeply as he unbuttoned my jeans and slide them, along with my panties to the floor. I held onto Ranger's shoulders as I stepped out of them and used my feet to pull off the damn white socks too. He released the clasp on my bra and slid in down my arms revealing my breasts, my nipples standing at attention, begging to be touched.

I reached for Ranger's cargos but he placed his hands over mine stopping me. I pulled away from the kiss and looked at him in question. "Patience Babe" Ranger said with a grin.

Patience-Schmatience I thought to myself but then lost all thought as Ranger pushed me backwards onto the bed and began kissing me anew.

He kissed my lips then down my jaw making his way slowly to my neck. Ranger kissed and licked my neck, pulling bits of flesh into his mouth, sucking and biting.

I was moaning and writhing beneath him. He moved down to my collar bone tracing the line of it with his tongue.

He alternated kissing and swirling his tongue over my hypersensitive skin. When his hot mouth settled over my nipple, drawing it into his mouth, I felt a rush just short of orgasm. I gasped as he feasted on me, increasing the suction, moving to the other side to repeat the exquisite torture.

I was so wet. I needed him so badly. I tried to move myself so he was rubbing between my legs but he just pulled back and continued down my body. He placed open-mouthed kisses over my stomach and low on my belly.

Ranger was now kneeling at the side of the bed, between my legs. He glanced up and gave me one last hot look then draped my legs over each of his shoulders. I could feel wetness spilling out of me, down the insides of my thighs. Ranger blew cool air across my wet heat and I shivered. The chill was short-lived as Ranger's tongue licked a long path between my folds. I cried out and fisted my hands in the sheets as he licked and sucked with enthusiasm.

Ranger reached up taking one of my breasts into his hand, kneading and pulling and its peak. He used his other hand to pry my hand free from the sheets, threading our fingers together, holding on tightly. He swirled his tongue around my clit then sucked it between his lips insistently. My head was spinning as I felt the heat pooling low in my belly. I moaned loudly as the orgasm washed over me, each wave stronger than the one before. All I could feel was Ranger's mouth on me and our hands where they were merged.

Ranger gentled his movements, licking and caressing me with is tongue. My body continued to shudder and I felt my climax building again.

I licked my lips which were dry from panting. I managed to croak out "Ranger" but I don't think he heard me. I wanted him inside of me but I loved what he was doing too much to complain.

He continued his sweet assault. I reached down with my free hand brushing his hair back from his face. His eyes locked with mine as he drove me higher. Watching him was so erotic I slipped over the edge again almost without warning, closing my eyes, throwing my head back in bliss.

I heard Ranger slip off his pants then felt him kissing his way back up my body. When he made it to my lips I kissed him hungrily, tasting myself on his tongue. I licked his lips taking the bottom one into my mouth, between my teeth and nipping.

With a growl Ranger lifted me up spinning us so my head was on the pillows.

Ranger covered me with his body, his erection long and hard pressing against my thigh. "I need you" I whispered to him.

I kissed his face, nipped his chin then moved to his neck. I sucked at the juncture of his neck and shoulder loving the taste of him. I bit down none-too-gently and thrilled at his quick intake of breath.

I felt Ranger position himself at my entrance. He felt warm and solid as stone. I closed my eyes in anticipation.

"Stephanie" I heard him say softly.

I opened my eyes to find his gaze intense.

"I love you" he said then thrust into me in one smooth motion.

We both went still at the feel of him inside of me. Ranger was panting quietly, I'm not sure I was breathing at all.

Ranger looked deep into my eyes as he began to move inside of me. The thrusts started out long and slow but soon became shorter and faster. I wanted to scream from the intensity, instead I leaned up and kissed him fervently. I ran my hands down Ranger's back, skimming it with my nails. When I reached his ass I gave it a squeeze feeling the muscles flex as he pumped into me.

"Ranger" I breathed losing control, "Oh god, Ranger, oooh". I was panting loudly. I felt my walls tighten around him as another orgasm rocked my body. Ranger continued to pound into me and I felt my head start to spin. Just as I thought I would pass out I felt Ranger thrust into me impossibly deep and still there as he came deep inside of me.

Ranger rested his forehead on mine as we tried to regain our composure.

I opened my eyes when Ranger pulled his head back and found him smiling a beautifully contented smile down at me. I'm pretty sure I wore the matching smile on my face.

Ranger was still inside of me as he rolled us onto our sides, legs entwined.

He smoothed sweat-soaked curls away from my face and caressed my cheek with the back of his knuckles. I was drowning in the tenderness and love in his eyes.

I leaned in and kissed him, rubbing my lips back and forth across his. He parted his lips and I slid my tongue into his mouth caressing his tongue with mine. I placed a hand at the side of his head and stroked his hair with my fingertips, just gazing at him. He was more beautiful than ever in the afterglow.

Now that was making love I thought to myself. God, I love him.

"Hi Babe" Ranger said with a smile.

"Hi" I said returning his smile.

Just then my stomach growled so loud I think they could hear it in the Burg.

Ranger chuckled then said "Let's clean up then we can nuke our dinner, and I believe someone still has dessert to enjoy." He lowered his voice and said "since I already had mine".

With one last kiss he pulled out of me and rolled out of bed. He reached down and pulled me up leading me into the bathroom.

Ranger started the shower then stepped inside and reached for me.

We made love again in the shower and took turns washing each other from head to toe.

I wrapped myself in Ranger's robe and towel dried my hair. Ranger had slipped on a pair of grey sweatpants and gone to reheat our food.

As I walked towards the kitchen I heard Ranger speaking quietly. He was leaning over Rex's cage, feeding him a grape. "Don't you worry little guy, I plan to take care of her for a very long time."

I waited a second then walked into the kitchen with a smile in my heart.

Ranger flashed a 200 watt smile when he saw me and pulled me into his arms, kissing my neck.

"Stop, no more until I've had my dessert" I said with a laugh pushing him away playfully.

We sat and finished our dinner then shared the cherry cheesecake Ella had sent up.

We sat around watching TV for an hour or so then headed back to bed where we made love for a long time. As I lay spent in Ranger's arms I couldn't help but think how wonderful my life was going, well except for the psycho who wants to kill Ranger and take me to the angels, but even he didn't seem important at the moment.

"I love you Ranger" I said just before sleep took me.

"I love you too Babe" I heard him reply as I drifted off.

_A/N - Thanks for continuing to read and review. This chapter was supposed to be the storm since chapter 5 was The Calm Before the Storm but I delayed the storm in favor of gratuitous Babe smut. Hope you enjoyed!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_We sat around watching TV for an hour or so then headed back to bed where we made love for a long time. As I lay spent in Ranger's arms I couldn't help but think how wonderful my life was going, well except for the psycho who wants to kill Ranger and take me to the angels, but even he didn't seem important at the moment._

"_I love you Ranger" I said just before sleep took me._

"_I love you too Babe" I heard him reply as I drifted off._

_**Chapter Seven**_

We were finishing up breakfast the next morning getting ready to head out for the day when Ranger's cell phone rang.

"Yo…where…you sure the car's clean…pull into the garage…see you in five" Ranger said flipping his phone shut.

I looked at him expectantly.

"Morelli found a present from Scrog in his car this morning" Ranger said, his expression serious.

My stomach rolled and I felt lightheaded.

"What was it?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

Ranger walked over to my side of the table and held out his hand to me to help me up. "Pictures of us, that's all Morelli said but he doesn't sound too happy. He's on his way up now."

Oh, god, pictures of me and Ranger, this could be very, very bad! Something tells me Joe and I are no longer "more than ok", I thought to myself. Ranger seemed to read my thoughts.

"Worrying about it now won't change anything Steph. It's done." Ranger said hugging me to him, tucking a curl behind my ear. He kissed me firmly on the lips "Remember Babe, we're in this together" he said with a tight smile that didn't reach his eyes. I think Ranger knew too that the shit was about to hit the fan.

A pounding on the door interrupted our moment. Ranger went to answer it while I went into the living room and took a seat in one of the comfy chairs.

Morelli walked in followed by Ranger.

Morelli looked more furious than I had ever seen him. His face was red, a vein bulged at his temple and his jaw was set tight. He had an envelope in one hand, the other hand balled into a tight fist. Oh shit, here it comes I thought.

Joe threw the envelope down onto the coffee table and three or four large black and white photos spilled out.

I picked them up looking at the one on top. It was Ranger and I in front of the used bookstore near the bonds office the morning that Morelli found us there eating muffins. We were kissing deeply, Ranger leaning over me a bit, supporting me with his arms around my back. I had my arms wrapped around his neck, my hands threaded through his hair. I knew that seeing this wouldn't make Joe happy but he had seen similar pictures in Scrog's scrapbook. Then I read the caption written across the bottom **_At least they waited for you to pull away_**.

I flipped to the second photo and almost choked, it was an inside shot of my bedroom taken from what looked like a surveillance camera near my closet. I was wearing my cute little pajamas standing near the bed looking at Ranger who was already in it. I was trying to decide whether I wanted to get in or not and Ranger was reaching out to me, wanting me to join him. The caption read: **_An offer she can't refuse_**.

Oh, no, I have a bad feeling about what's coming next.

"Oh keep going Steph, you haven't gotten to the best part yet" Joe said through clenched teeth, anger threatening to explode.

During all of this Ranger stood silently behind me. When I flipped to the second shot I heard him make a call to have my apartment swept for surveillance equipment.

With shaking hands I turned to the third photo. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach, I can't imagine how Joe felt looking at it.

The picture was of me, on my back in bed. I was topless and my head was thrown back in ecstasy. Ranger's hand could be seen covering my right breast, his head and body a lump beneath the covers between my legs. The caption read: **_Now we're getting somewhere_**.

The photos fell from my trembling fingers. I looked down at the floor and saw the last photo. Oh, no.

It was a picture of Ranger naked, climbing out of my bed. He had thrown the covers back to get up, exposing my completely nude body. The caption read: **_Too bad you had to show up and ruin the fun_**.

I couldn't breath, I felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. Oh god, what have I done? I was staring at the picture although I wasn't actually seeing it anymore. I was lost in my own thoughts, how did I let this happen? How could I do this to Joe?

No one was saying anything. Joe stood hands on hips breathing heavily beneath his anger. I felt his gaze burning a hole into me. Anger was rolling off of him in waves.

Ranger was still behind me. I couldn't see him but I could feel his presence close by. I don't know what Ranger was thinking but I was thinking I had to get the hell out of here. Just then Joe spoke.

"Don't you have anything to say Stephanie?"

I didn't say anything, I couldn't. Somehow I had managed to push the guilt away right up until this point and now I was drowning in it. I whispered "I'm sorry" knowing it was inadequate but not knowing what else to say.

Joe blew out a hard breath, "I knew about the kissing, even before I saw the pictures in Scrog's scrapbook. I heard about the kisses in the alley by Vinnie's and out on the street in broad daylight and I heard a lot about the scene in the bakery the day Ranger left for Miami. This is the Burg Stephanie, you know more than anyone that things always get around. I would have to be stupid not to know. But I let it go because I thought if I pushed you for more of a commitment that you'd pull away like you always do. I thought it was better to have part of you than none of you at all." The anger had gone out of Joe's voice, he now sounded more defeated than anything. "I just didn't realize that it went this far. I don't know why I didn't realize it, looking back I guess I should have known."

"It's not her fault Morelli, I pressured her. I was relentless, always applying pressure, trying to get her to give in, to consent to go further." Ranger said in my defense.

"Believe it or not Manoso, you're not irresistible! She could have stopped it if she wanted to. She just didn't want to." Joe picked up the third picture and studied it. "She is obviously a willing participant. That look on her face I know well, she was half way to the moon and definitely not thinking about me or our relationship."

"I'm sorry Joe, I didn't mean to hurt you" I said drawing Morelli's attention back to me, afraid a fist fight would erupt, "I wasn't thinking, sometimes I just don't think."

"Now there's the understatement of the century!" Joe spat, anger reappearing.

"Watch it Morelli" Ranger warned.

"How long have you been fucking her huh, Manoso?" Joe bit out.

"About 12 hours, not that it's your business anymore" Ranger replied.

"Wow, Steph, nice to know you were _so_ upset by our break-up that you mourned it for almost half a day before jumping in bed with him!" Joe said shaking his head in disgust.

I stood up from my chair, walked into Ranger's bedroom and started stuffing things into my duffle bag. I went into the bathroom to load up what was in there. I was violently wiping tears from my face and snot from my nose with my sleeve. I could barely see through my tears and shame. I turned to leave the room and ran right into Ranger. I bounced back but he caught me before I could fall.

"What are you doing Babe?" Ranger asked, voice calm as he reached out to touch my face.

I pulled away from him before he touched me. "I'm leaving. I can't take anymore. My nerves are shot. I just need to get away from everything… from everyone" I said looking away from his gaze.

"Let me ask you something Ranger, if you didn't want a relationship with me, why didn't you back off after you sent me back to Morelli? Why did you keep applying pressure, was it just about beating Morelli?" I asked still not looking at him.

When he didn't answer I squeezed past him and hurried into the kitchen to grab Rex. On second thought, it's probably better to leave him here. Who knows what Scrog would do to him if he got his hands on him.

I said goodbye to Rex, scribbled a note asking Ranger to feed him and then picked up my duffle heading for the door.

Joe blocked my path when I stepped into the living room. "You need to stop running away Steph! We need to talk about this and damn it we're gonna do it" he yelled. He took my bag from my shoulder and tossed it onto the couch. I noticed Ranger was standing near the coffee table watching the interaction.

"What am I supposed to say Joe? I don't know how it happened but somehow I turned into Joyce Barnhardt!" I yelled right back at him hands flung in the air.

I turned away from him and went back into the kitchen for a drink. I pulled out a beer, popped the top and chugged a third of the bottle, not caring that it was 8:30 in the morning. But the beer didn't help. I poured the rest down the drain, turned around and sunk to the floor, back against the counter, knees up to my chest. I crossed my arms over my knees, buried my head in my arms and cried. At first I was crying because I hurt Joe and I was ashamed. Then I was crying because Scrog was out there playing his sick game, hoping to make me his. It just went on from there, all the anger, hurt, fear and shame came flowing out of me. I cried because Scrog used my deception to hurt Joe. I cried at the thought of Scrog trying to kill Ranger and that made me cry even more because I thought that Ranger and I had turned a page in our relationship. Last night was perfect and now I can't even bear to look at him. I can't believe I ruined our relationship in less than 12 hours. God, what's wrong with me?

When I finally stopped sobbing I collapsed on my side on the floor. I curled up my legs in the fetal position and just lay there with my eyes closed trying to catch my breath. I felt a pair of strong arms lift me up and a kiss was placed on my head. I was then passed to another set of arms. I opened my eyes and saw that Ranger had handed me off to Joe. Joe carried me to the living room couch and laid me down then took a seat close to me on the coffee table. Ranger was standing across the room. He and Joe wore matching pained expressions.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose it. I just can't take anymore. Between Scrog and this relationship crap, it's too much for me to handle. Denial isn't even working anymore." I said looking at the floor.

Neither of them said anything. I blew out a sigh and excused myself to the bathroom. I splashed some cold water on my face and blotted it dry with a cushy towel. I looked at myself in the mirror assessing. Red blotchy face, puffy eyes, pink runny nose and hair from hell. I am a walking disaster. _Suck it up Plum, this isn't how Wonder Woman would handle herself. Grow some backbone!_ I said giving myself an internal pep talk. I straitened my spine, stuck my chin up and went out to face the firing squad.

When I came out of the bathroom I found Morelli waiting on the couch but Ranger was gone.

"Where's Ranger?" I asked Joe automatically.

"I don't know. He just said he had to go, he was making a call as he walked out the door. I told him leaving now was stupid but I don't know if he heard me."

He probably went downstairs to check in with Tank or do some work I figured.

"Look Joe, I know that I can't say anything to make up for what I did. But I _am_ sorry. It wasn't as despicable as you think and I never planned for anything like that to happen." I blew out a sigh. "I also want you to know that Ranger and I never made love while you and I were together and the pictures you saw", I said unable to hide my shame, "that was the only time things progressed beyond kissing."

"I know you didn't want to hurt me Steph. I believe that you didn't plan for things to happen. I'm not that surprised if I'm really honest with myself. He loves you, you love him, you guys have a real connection, more than you and I have ever had."

I sat down next to Joe wanting to make things right between us so I could move on to Ranger.

"I won't lie and say it doesn't hurt, but we're not together anymore so I guess it doesn't matter much now. I'll get over it, it's a little bit of an ego thing. Hell, I guess if I had to lose you to another man, Manoso is the best man for the job. I don't know what you said to him earlier but he closed himself off after that. Try not to make the same mistakes we made with him Cupcake. I think if there ever was a man out there who could keep up with you, it's Manoso" Joe said, the edges of his mouth turned up in a bittersweet smile.

I wanted to be offended but hey, he was right.

"I need to find Ranger and talk to him, and we need to get out and try to lure Scrog out. The sooner he's out of the picture, the sooner I can try to regain my sanity."

"What sanity?" Joe said with a wink.

I grabbed my purse, keys and cell phone and went downstairs to look for Ranger.

I stepped off on the 5th floor, passing Lester and Bobby and walked into the Comm. Room. Ram and Junior were on monitor duty. I didn't see Ranger on any of the screens.

"Where's Ranger?" I asked Ram. He looked at Junior and then back at me, he seemed to be uncomfortable.

"He went out" Junior said, taking Ram off the hot seat.

"He went out alone?" Ram nodded. "Out where? Pull him up on the GPS." I said louder than I meant to, angry at Ranger for walking out on me and angrier still because he left the building without Lester and Bobby.

"He didn't say Steph, he just said he's offline, sorry" Ram said.

"Track his car, where is he?" I was seeing stars I was so upset.

"He disabled the GPS before he left the garage" Junior said.

I walked down the hall into Ranger's office, slamming the door behind me. I called Ranger's cell but it went straight to voice mail. I left a frantic message "Call me right away."

Just as I flipped the phone closed I saw I had a new voice mail message. Oh, thank god, Ranger must have been trying to call me at the same time.

I called into voice mail to pick up the message but instead of hearing Ranger's voice, I heard the chilling voice of Edward Scrog.

_Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. (evil laugh) You're quite the adept betrayer aren't you Stephanie? Did you and your men enjoy the photos? The video was better but I didn't want to rub it in the cop's face too much._

_I have exciting news Babe, (evil laugh) you'll never guess who I just ran into. It was awfully arrogant of him to go out alone don't you think? Again he underestimates me. I will be in touch again soon, I have work to finish. Kisses my love._

Then the line went dead.

The quote is by Sir Walter Scott.

_A/N - Evil, I know. Hope you enjoyed chapter seven. _


	8. Chapter 8

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_I called into voice mail to pick up the message but instead of hearing Ranger's voice, I heard the chilling voice of Edward Scrog._

"_Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. (evil laugh) You're quite the adept betrayer aren't you Stephanie? Did you and your men enjoy the photos? The video was better but I didn't want to rub it in the cop's face too much._

_I have exciting news Babe, (laugh) you'll never guess who I just ran into. It was awfully arrogant of him to go out alone don't you think? Again he underestimates me. I will be in touch again soon, I have work to finish. Kisses my love."_

_Then the line went dead._

_**Chapter Eight**_

My lips went numb and black dots danced in front of my eyes.

My body was out of Ranger's office running down the hall into the Comm. Room all on its own volition.

"Where's Tank?" I yelled at Ram and Junior.

"In the gym, what's wrong Steph?" Junior asked alarmed.

"Get him in here now, I think Ranger's in trouble."

I dialed Ranger's cell again and again it went straight into voicemail.

"SHIT!" I screamed, only barely controlling the urge to throw the phone across the room.

I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths, in through the mouth, out through the nose, in through the mouth, out through the nose. I heard Ranger's steady voice in my head. "You have a goal. You have to focus on the goal. If you give yourself up to unproductive emotion you can't focus on the goal." ¹

When I opened my eyes I felt much calmer. Ranger wasn't even here and still he was my source of strength, I thought with a rush of emotion.

The Comm. Room was suddenly flooded with Merry Men. Lester and Bobby came rushing in followed closely by a very sweaty Tank who was still wearing gym shorts and boxing gloves.

"I think that Scrog has Ranger. Listen to this" I said playing the message on speaker phone.

"Pictures, what pictures?" Tank wanted to know.

"The pictures aren't important right now, finding Ranger is" I said not wanting to waste time explaining.

"Ranger had us sweep Steph's apartment for surveillance equipment earlier today" said Lester.

"The place was clean though" Bobby finished.

Tank started barking out orders to the Merry Men. They would fan out, some taking to the streets to beat down leads and search for Ranger. Others would stay in the office making calls and trying to get a lead that way while others still were loading up vehicles with equipment, guns and munitions preparing for a fight.

"Lester, Bobby take Steph upstairs to Ranger's apartment and keep her there. You're in deep shit if she gets out!" Tank boomed.

"_EXCUSE ME?" _I shrieked.

"Steph, Ranger wouldn't want you out there putting yourself in danger to look for him. Don't fight me on this" Tank tried to reason.

I looked at Tank and calmly said "I _will not_ be locked up in the building while the rest of you handle this. It is not debatable Tank. I meant what I said before. I _will not _let Scrog hurt him again. I _will_ stop Scrog no matter what it takes. Scrog _will_ be eliminated if it's the last thing I do."

"I'm going to be part of this and I'll do whatever I have to do to make that happen" I said pulling my Sig from my purse, confirming that it was still loaded.

I saw all of the Merry Men take a step back. Hal's eyes widened with fear. I guess I still make him nervous after the stun gun incident.

Tank looked at me assessing. "Are you sure you're up for this Steph?" You've been through a lot lately."

"Yes, I'm sure" I said with certainty.

"Ok" Tank said, "But you _will _stay by my side at all times. We know Scrog wants you and Ranger will kill me if I let you get hurt…or worse. Give me 10 minutes to get ready, and then we roll out."

"Tank" I called out to his retreating form "I need more fire power."

Tank gave me a nod then had a silent conversation with Bobby. He then turned and left the room.

Bobby said "Come on Steph, let's get you suited up."

Bobby threw his arm around my shoulders and led me down the hall to the weapons room.

Once my hardware was selected I took the elevator upstairs to change clothes. I put on one of my Rangeman uniforms left-over from my time as an employee.

I slid on my nylon gun belt, loaded my Sig, a stun gun, pepper spray and a set cuffs onto it, snapping each item in place. I slid a baby Glock 26 into an ankle holster and secured it around my right ankle, pulling down the leg of my cargo pants to conceal it.

I looked at myself in the mirror. Hair pulled back in a low ponytail, all black Rangeman uniform with black CAT boots and a fully loaded utility belt. I looked like I was ready to kick ass. I chose to ignore my shaking hands, pounding heartbeat and sick stomach at the risk of acknowledging my fear.

I stepped off the elevator on the fifth floor and caught up with the Merry Men in the conference room.

The room went silent when I entered. Expressions were grim. Oh no, I thought.

"Tank?" I asked, panic seeping through to the surface a bit.

"We just got a call from the Trenton PD. Ranger's Turbo was found in a ditch off of Bear Tavern Road in West Trenton about 10 minutes ago. There was heavy body damage all over the vehicle. They found blood on the driver's side door and seat." Tanks voice softened as he continued "Ranger is nowhere to be found Steph."

My breath caught in my chest. I couldn't breathe. Shit, don't pass out Steph I chided. Focus on the goal, focus on the goal. I kept repeating Ranger's words in my head.

"Take me to the scene Tank." I wanted to have a look for myself and see what my spidey sense tells me, but I didn't want to say that to Tank, he might think I'm crazy and lock me upstairs.

"Are you sure Steph, the cop on the scene said there was quite a bit of blood" Tank said gently.

"Tank, stop treating me like some helpless woman and start treating me like a capable member of the team. I'm sure about this, I won't change my mind. Not let's go, we're wasting time." I said, ready to leave the conference room.

Tank gave me a curt nod and said "Steph, you're with me. Lester and Bobby will lead and Hal and Cal will follow."

We all trudged down the stairs to the garage.

Tank and I climbed into his Rangeman Expedition and buckled ourselves in.

"It will take about 15 minutes to get there." Tank said as we rolled out of the garage.

"Scrog won't kill him now, I'm sure of it. He needs to have Ranger to get to me. He knows he can't get his hands on me unless I come to him willingly. And he knows that I'll go to him as long as he has Ranger and he's right. I'm surprised I haven't heard any more from him yet." I said thinking out loud.

"You just hold off on any thoughts of throwing yourself at him ok Steph. Once we have a better idea what the hell is going on, we might be able to pull off a rescue" Tank said looking at me sternly, probably aware that I would take off alone in a heartbeat if I thought it would get Ranger out safe.

Our caravan pulled to the side of the road behind a line of police and fire vehicles. The embankment was steep and a long drop off the side of the road.

Tank and I climbed out of the Expedition and immediately I was surrounded by Merry Men.

"Guys please! Give me some room to move" I said suddenly feeling smothered.

They each took a step back but still surrounded me. We walked around the rescue vehicles and climbed under the police tape. We saw a couple of police officers talking to an EMT. They stopped talking when we approached.

Tank reached out his hand to the cop who seemed to be in charge.

"Name's Tank, I'm from Rangeman. I believe we spoke on the phone. Are you Officer Girard?"

The cop on the left nodded his head as he shook Tank's hand. "This is Officer Dunn" he said inclining his head to his colleague "and Rob Smith. He's the medic who arrived with the ambulance shortly after we did."

I wasn't looking at the guys. My gaze was focused down the embankment to Ranger's Porsche Turbo which was sitting on its roof. Every piece of body I could see was dented. The car must have rolled a few times on its way down the hill. Oh God, I can't imagine what kind of shape Ranger would be in after that ride.

"It looks like another vehicle blew through the intersection slamming into the Porsche at the driver's side door pushing it until it went off the road and barrel-rolled to the bottom of the ravine." He glanced at his notebook then continued. "There is quite a bit of blood on the driver's seat and around that area. At first we thought the occupant was ejected but we used search dogs to try to locate him and found that he was no longer here. The dogs led us to the dirt access road down there where that flatbed is parked" he said pointing with his notepad. "There are drag marks in the dirt and fresh tire tracks from some sort of large truck or SUV. We thought maybe a passer-by saw the accident and decided to drive the injured to the hospital rather than call an ambulance, but given that Mr. Manoso has received death threats recently and no one has shown up at any of the area hospitals, we no longer believe that to be the case. You can go down and take a look if you'd like. Once you're through the flatbed will tow the car out."

We carefully made our way down the steep slope. I was using my hands and feet and mostly my ass to keep from rolling down the hill. The Merry Men were much more graceful than I was. I guess they had more experience at this type of thing than me.

When we got close to the car I felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs. Up close I could see that in addition to the dents the windshield was completely smashed, and the driver's side window was gone. I stepped closer and knelt down to see in the window. I placed my hand on the door and just stared at the blood stains. The windshield had a splash of blood on it and there was a pool of blood on the inside ceiling above the driver's seat. I could picture Ranger hanging from the seatbelt, bleeding from his head, blood pooling on the ceiling below his head. He was probably unconscious. I smothered a sob with my hand and stood to get away from the wreckage. I ran about four feet away and threw up in the grass. I stood there bent at the waste catching my breath. I felt a hand on my back and turned to find Morelli standing there, rubbing my back in slow circles.

"Thanks, I'm ok now" I said straightening up. Sheesh, I tell them to treat me like a capable member of the team and here I am throwing up at the first sight of blood. Actually it wasn't the blood, it was the mental image of Ranger, unconscious and bleeding, dangling from his harness.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Morelli.

"I heard them run the plate after the accident was called in. Girard filled me in. Have you heard from Scrog?" Joe asked.

I filled him in on the voicemail message. I saw his jaw clench at the mention of the photos but he didn't say anything.

"I want to walk to the access road and check it out" I told the group.

Tank nodded and we all walked about 250 feet to where the dirt road met up with the ravine.

You could see marks where a vehicle with large wheels pulled away spinning the tires a bit in the sandy dirt. I could also make out the drag marks the police were talking about. It looked like Scrog must have carried Ranger part of the way to his truck but dragged him the last ten feet or so. I'm surprised Scrog was even able to lift Ranger into the truck. I guess like with Con Stiva, when you're desperate and crazy you find a way.

"Now what?" I asked out loud to no one in particular. My spidey sense wasn't sending me any signs telling me what to do next. I knew that Scrog had Ranger and I knew that Ranger was hurt. Beyond that I was at a loss.

Before anyone could answer my cell phone started ringing. The ringtone was Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down, the ringtone I reserved only for Ranger.

I looked at the display and said "The call is coming from Ranger's cell phone."

I opened the call and said "Yo".

"So what do you think of the wreckage? My work is impressive isn't it?" came Scrog's psychotic voice, my skin instantly covered in creepy crawls.

"Well, I think that gravity might have had a thing or two to do with the damage. You can't really take all the credit."

I didn't know if I should be bating him but he was really pissing me off with his fucked up view of reality.

"It was a beautiful coincidence that I even saw him. I was out driving and I stopped for a light that had just turned yellow, I can't afford to get pulled over you know. When I looked up I saw _him _in his black Porsche waiting to cross the intersection. It was then that I knew that fate had brought us both there at that exact moment. We were the only two vehicles in sight. This was meant to be Stephanie. Now all I need is you."

"I don't believe you" I said "let me talk to him if you really have him."

"I'm afraid I can't do that Stephanie, you see he's a little out of it at the moment" Scrog laughed. "When I got down to the wreckage he was unconscious. Of course I stunned him after I cut him loose just incase, but he was out cold from the crash. And I've been drugging him so he'll stay out for now."

"Well now, I have to go before this call can be traced down. I'll be sending you a message in a few minutes and I want you to be ready to come to me tonight at midnight. I'll be in touch with instructions."

The call disconnected.

"What did he have to say Steph?" Morelli asked.

"He said he was out driving and saw Ranger by chance. He said Ranger was unconscious when he found him and that he was out of it right now so I couldn't talk to him. He also said he was going to send me a message in a few minutes." I deliberately left out the part about being ready at midnight tonight. I was prepared to do this on my own if necessary. I was sure if the guys knew they'd never let me go.

Just then my phone chimed indicating that I had a message. The screen read _1 new multimedia message_.

I flipped open the phone and couldn't control the strangled sob that came out of me. I was looking at a picture of Ranger. It was cell phone quality, but clear enough to see Ranger lying on the floor on his side. His face was covered with blood and he was wearing handcuffs and leg shackles. I knew that he was hurt from the accident but I wasn't prepared to see it myself. He was unconscious, his soft lips parted, his face was at ease despite the injuries. I was just glad that he was out cold so at least he wasn't in pain at the moment.

Below the picture it read _Sent by: Ranger's cell._ Below that was a text message from Scrog. It read: _I'm disappointed he was such an easy takedown. I thought I would get to show off my skills but the way it played out was so anticlimactic . I know you will be more of a challenge. It won't be long now._

I turned the phone around so the guys could see. Tank took the phone out of my hand looked at it and passed it on.

I turned away from them folding my arms across my chest, staring up into the sky. He has to be alright I told myself. I want him to take care of me for a long time, just like he told Rex he would. I don't know how I'm going to pull it off but somehow tonight I'll go meet Scrog.

_¹ - Quote taken from Twelve Sharp pg. 243._

_A/N - Thank you to those who continue to read and review. I hope you have enjoyed the latest installment. _


	9. Chapter 9

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_Below the picture it read Sent by: Ranger's cell. Below that was a text message from Scrog. It read: I'm disappointed he was such an easy takedown. I thought I would get to show off my skills but the way it played out was so anticlimactic. I know you will be more of a challenge. It won't be long now._

_I turned the phone around so the guys could see. Tank took the phone out of my hand looked at it and passed it on._

_I turned away from them folding my arms across my chest, staring up into the sky. He has to be alright I told myself. I want him to take care of me for a long time, just like he told Rex he would. I don't know how I'm going to pull it off but somehow tonight I'll go meet Scrog._

_**Chapter Nine**_

_** A/N – I am not from New Jersey, though the places I mention are real and many of the facts are accurate, other elements such as terrain have been written to meet my needs. I am also not a member of law enforcement or the military so you'll have to cut me some slack with my tactical knowledge. Thanks and enjoy!**_

"Cal and Bobby go get your vehicles and bring them around to the end of the access road. The rest of us are gonna walk it" Tank said.

I was lost in my own thoughts as we started to walk, not really listening to what was going on around me. I was trying not to think about Ranger, I needed to figure out what the hell I was going to do about tonight. I knew that I shouldn't sneak off alone, I knew it would be dangerous but I needed to do something and this felt like the best option at this point.

I was trying to keep my emotions on lock-down but I kept flashing back to the image of Ranger, cuffed and shackled lying unconscious on the floor, his face covered in blood. I was afraid if he didn't get to a Dr. soon, it might be too late.

I knew in my head that Ranger wouldn't want me to risk my life to save him, Tank was right about that. But in my heart I knew that I would do anything in my power to get to him, even if it meant playing right into Scrog's hands. I had some big questions that I needed to work through first though. One, was there anyone who I could trust to help me, who wouldn't try to lock me away instead? And two, assuming that I got to the meeting, how the hell was I going to manage to get the best of Scrog and get Ranger out safe?

By the time we were half way down the road I had decided that no matter what, I would go alone tonight. I didn't want to put anyone else in danger. I just had to figure out a way to get away from Tank and that was something I didn't think I could do without an accomplice.

Lester was walking about 15 feet ahead of us. Morelli and Tank were by my sides and Hal was walking about 15 feet behind us.

"Tank, do you have any idea where Ranger might have been going?" I asked. He was obviously heading out of Trenton when he ran into Scrog. "There's not a lot out here that I know of, mostly old houses and State property."

"I don't know Steph. All I know is that he called the Comm. Room on his way out saying that he was offline until further notice. Junior said he was short, even for Ranger, he thought he might be upset but wasn't sure since Ranger doesn't usually give much away. He disabled his GPS before leaving the garage. I was surprised because when I talked to Ranger before breakfast he sounded like a new man. He was almost _perky_ it was damn weird" Tank said with a shake of his head.

I just continued walking, not having anything to say.

Tank looked at Joe and then back at me. He lowered his voice "Ranger said you guys were giving it a try."

I saw Joe stiffen a little but he didn't say anything. I guess it will take some time for him to get used to Ranger and I together, that is if we still are.

I stopped walking and placed a hand over my forehead, my thumb on one temple, and middle finger at the other. I rubbed my head trying to relieve the pain but it didn't help any.

I didn't want to tell Tank what I said to Ranger or about how I pulled away from his touch for the first time _ever_. I didn't want to admit that I managed to blow it already. Of course, I didn't think Ranger would take off half-cocked and alone like he did but what I said obviously hurt him or else he wouldn't have responded that way. I just wish that I could take it back. I will never pull back from him again if he will just come back to me safe. I hadn't meant to pull away from him. It wasn't even that I didn't want him to touch me exactly. I just needed some space. I was feeling disgusted with myself and unfit to be near anyone.

I blew out a sigh "Yeah, we were giving it a try, but I screwed up already and I don't think he wants to be with me anymore" I said not opening my eyes. "I don't think he would have taken off if he did. Now I'm just afraid that I'll never get the chance to tell him I'm sorry" I said letting my hand drop away from my face looking down the road.

"Stephanie, don't say shit like that" Morelli chided.

"Yeah Steph, if there's one thing I know it's that Ranger always prevails…just like you" he said reaching out and tweaking my nose. Tank threw his arm around me as we started to walk again. I just wish I shared his confidence.

Cal and Bobby were parked at the end of the access road, it was only about half a mile long. They got out when we were about fifty feet from them. They had guns drawn, eyes scanning the woods as best they could.

Morelli got in with Lester and Bobby to catch a ride back to his car. Tank and I got in with Cal and Hal and followed them down the access road. The access road connected to another dirt road which eventually connected to Bear Tavern Road.

I saw several dirt roads that led into the woods and who knows where from there.

"Do you know where all these dirt roads go?" I asked the guys.

We weren't too far from the Delaware River where George Washington crossed with his troops and defeated the Hessians at the battle of Trenton in 1776. Ranger had mentioned Washington shafting the Hessians during our first meeting at the coffee shop I recalled sadly.

"I don't know, I assume they head towards the river or they may not go anywhere at all. They could just be access roads used by the Forestry Service for patrolling the woods. Or they could be logging roads or hunting trails. I'm pretty sure these woods are part of Washington Crossing National Park. My uncle used to take me hiking there when I was a kid. I think this is Titusville here, not West Trenton.

I had a sudden thought. "Scrog knew that I was on scene when he called. He asked how I liked the wreckage. He had to be close enough to be watching us" I said looking around frantically.

Cal had stopped the SUV and Lester had pulled over along the trees as well.

I pulled out my phone and looked at the picture again. For the first time I noticed that the floor in the picture was unfinished thick pine planks, like you would see in a barn or shed. I also noticed dried mud and a few straws of hay.

"Tank, what would it take to do a search for barns and sheds around here? Look at the floor" I said showing Tank the photo again, "it's not a finished wood floor like you'd see in a house, it looks more like some sort of outbuilding, look at the mud and hay. Ranger could be near by Tank, I'm sure the Forestry Service has buildings in these woods and they're probably not used much in the fall and winter."

"Morelli could probably get that kind of information quicker" Tank said flipping open his phone and dialing.

I stepped out of the SUV just as Morelli stepped up to my door.

"What' going on Steph?" Morelli asked nervous.

"When I talked to Scrog he knew that I was here, he must have been close enough to see us. Ranger probably isn't too far either if that's the case. And look at the floor in the picture, it's made from pine planks, he's not in a house, it's some sort of outbuilding. I need you to find out if the Forestry Service has any structures like that in the area. Scrog could even move around the woods with a rifle wearing camouflage and not look out of place since it's hunting season. I can feel it Joe, he's close by, I know it" I finished eyes wide.

Joe looked at me considering for a second or two then said "Ok Steph, I know better than to doubt your Spidey Sense."

I gave him a smile of thanks and he pulled out his cell and started making calls.

Tank walked over to me. "Silvio is working on getting what information he can dig up, in the mean time I've called in the team. We've got 20 men on the way. We're racing against the clock though. It's after 2:30 now and it will be dark in a couple of hours. Washington Crossing Park spreads over 800 acres. It's not all wooded and I wouldn't think there could be too many buildings around here, but it's still a lot of ground to cover."

Morelli closed his phone and said "There's a Forestry & Parks Service office about two miles from here. They'll have maps waiting for us. They wanted to send Park Rangers out to search the locations but I told then that it wouldn't be safe, that the Trenton PD and an outside contractor would handle it. They did say that they have a helicopter if we want them to do a fly over and look for anything out of place."

"No, Scrog is smart and we don't want to scare him off if he's around" I said.

I could feel the adrenaline humming through my body and for the first time since realizing Scrog had Ranger, I felt like we had a plan.

We were going to meet the team at a chain hotel off of Route 29 to go over the maps and plan of attack.

Cal and Hal dropped Tank and I off at his truck and we left for the parks office following Morelli.

We met the team about 45 minutes later with the maps. The Parks office had given us five copies of the maps as well as a list of four structures they felt might fit my description. They were not happy about taking a backseat on the search but Morelli assured them that it was for the best and if they wanted to they could confirm it with Governor Juniak.

We split up into teams, each with a specific building on target.

Tank, Morelli, Hal, Cal and I were going to search an old barn on the west side of the property. It was the largest of the targets. The barn was situated on the edge of a 20 acre open field but it backed up to within 30 feet of the forest. The Forestry & Parks Service used the barn to store lawn maintenance equipment and picnic tables during the off-season. It has a large door on each end, big enough to drive a tractor through and a smaller double door on the front meant for walking through. The barn hadn't been used or checked on since mid-October.

The plan was that we would hit the buildings simultaneously. There were Park Rangers and Trenton PD stationed on the access roads in case Scrog tried to make a run for it.

Now, as I sat in Tank's Expedition about a quarter mile from our target, I just hoped that this wasn't a big waste of time. Scrog could have Ranger anywhere. Maybe he had him in a shed on someone's private property, it would be less risky for getting caught. The more time ticked by, the more unsure I was of my theory. I was afraid that I was completely wrong and not only would I look like a fool but I could make Rangeman and Morelli look bad too.

I heard Tank say "One minute to go." We were wearing headset microphones and ear pieces, as were the rest of the team.

My heart was in my throat. We have to find him. I didn't want to sneak out and meet Scrog tonight, I knew it was a bad idea and I didn't know how badly Ranger was hurt, I just wanted to get him out safe.

"30 seconds" Tank said.

Deeps breaths Steph, _you have a goal, your goal is to find Ranger, focus on the goal_ I repeated my mantra silently.

"And…_GO_" I heard Tank say across the wire and we were in motion, climbing out of the SUV, falling into formation as Tank had instructed. Tank in front, me in the middle flanked by Cal and Hal and Morelli bringing up the rear.

Here we go I thought to myself.

_A/N - I will try to get chapter 10 up later today so that you aren't left haning long. Thank you for reading and reviewing! I appreciate your feedback!_


	10. Chapter 10

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_My heart was in my throat. We have to find him. I didn't want to sneak out and meet Scrog tonight, I knew it was a bad idea and I didn't know how badly Ranger was hurt, I just wanted to get him out safe._

"_30 seconds" Tank said._

_Deeps breaths Steph, you have a goal, your goal is to find Ranger, focus on the goal I repeated my mantra silently._

"_And…GO" I heard Tank say across the wire and we were in motion, climbing out of the SUV, falling into formation as Tank had instructed. Tank in front, me in the middle flanked by Cal and Hal and Morelli bringing up the rear._

_Here we go I thought to myself._

_**Chapter Ten**_

The guys were carrying great big guns with lights mounted on them, like something you'd see in a SWAT movie. I had my Sig and a Mag Lite. The sun was just beginning to set and although it was fairly light out in the open, the woods were cast into darks shadow. We would have cover as long as we were in the trees but once we moved out into the field we would be visible and vulnerable to Scrog and his rifle.

We sprinted across the open field and flattened ourselves against the side of the barn. Hal and Cal continued on around the building to the second large door.

I looked at the door just to my right and saw that the handles were wrapped in chair and secured with a padlock. When I looked a little closer I noticed that the lock had been cut but rehung to look like it was connected.

I motioned to the lock, pointing the break out to Tank and Morelli. On Tank's nod I very quietly removed the broken lock and unthreaded the chain from the handles. Once I finished I picked my gun and light back up, ready to proceed.

"Cal, Hal, you in position?" Tank whispered over the headset.

"Affirmative" was the hushed reply, I couldn't tell if it was Hal or Cal.

"In 3-2-1 _GO_" Tank said.

On _GO_ Joe and I yanked the doors open while Tank trained his rifle on the inside of the barn.

I saw Cal and Hal come in through the doors at the opposite end of the building.

The men fanned out searching high and low for any threat lurking in the depths of the building. There were some great hiding places inside.

Over the headset all was quiet except for some breathing and occasional sounds of movement. Then the other teams started to report in.

"Location One clear" came Lester's voice.

"Location Two all clear" I heard Manny say.

As I listened to the reports my eyes roamed the interior of the barn. There was some light filtering in through the dusty windows. I saw two large John Deere tractors and some other lawn equipment off to the right side. Just past that I saw picnic tables stacked two high along the wall.

I walked further into the barn noticing horse-sized stalls along the left side wall. All of the stall doors were open except for one.

Morelli came up behind me as I approached the sliding door. I looked through the bars and saw that the floor boards matched the ones in the picture. There were four bails of hay stacked in the stall, two high. I could see an old weathered white tarp draped over the back of them creating a tent behind them.

I made eye contact with Morelli silently asking for his help. Morelli slid the door open with one hand, gun raised in the other.

I approached the tarp holstering my gun, shoving the flashlight into my armpit to free up both hands to pull.

Morelli mouthed "O_n three, 3-2-1._"

I yanked the tarp with both hands throwing it to the floor behind me.

Ranger was lying on the floor on his side, just as he was in the picture from Scrog. By now a small puddle of blood had accumulated under his cheek. I was about to run to him when Morelli grabbed me around the middle from behind, holding me off of the ground.

"Steph, wait for the all clear. Scrog could be up in the hay loft waiting to take a shot" Morelli said quietly.

A moment later I heard Tank call "Location Five all clear".

"He's down here Tank, get the EMT in here, he's unconscious" I screamed ripping the headset off and tossing it aside. I was on my knees at Ranger's side in a flash. I was stroking his battered face. His skin felt cold and crusty with dried blood. Hot tears were rolling down my cheeks. I could tell that he was still breathing but he was taking very shallow breaths.

"Ranger, Ranger I'm here, wake up. We've got you, you're safe." I sobbed stroking his hair with my hand. "I'm sorry" I whispered. "Come back to me Ranger, please wake up" I begged.

Tank and Hal had kicked the hay bails aside and were working to remove the shackles and cuffs, rolling Ranger flat onto his back.

"Don't move him too much, watch his head" I cried afraid they might hurt him even worse.

I heard the blades of a helicopter overhead and a moment later a flight medic came rushing in with a stretcher and med kid.

"You have to get back Miss" he said to me but I couldn't move. I couldn't let go.

"Please Miss, you need to get back and give us room to work on him" he said, this time a bit more forceful.

Tank grabbed me by the back of my jacket and lifted me off the ground carrying me out of the small stall.

I stood with my face pressed against the stall bars, hands gripping them tight as I watched them work on Ranger.

"Oh God, not again" I cried.

Tank was talking to the flight nurse, conveying important information. I heard him tell her that Scrog claimed Ranger was unconscious after the accident and said that he had been giving him a sedative to keep him that way.

They slid a backboard underneath him and secured a collar around his neck. I saw them shining a pen light into his eyes. I couldn't see if he was responsive from this distance. They cut away Ranger's shirt and stuck monitors on his perfect chest. I saw a blood pressure cuff wrapped around his arm and a Pulse Ox monitor glowing on his finger.

The paramedics were talking to Ranger, trying to get some sort of response from him but he was not answering. They lifted Ranger and the backboard and strapped him onto the gurney. As they raised it up and rolled him out of the stall I ran to be by his side, staying with him as they wheeled him out to the awaiting MedEvac Helicopter.

"I'm sorry Miss but we don't allow passengers onboard. We'll take good care of him, ok. Don't worry" one of the flight crew said to me.

I felt hands grip me around the upper arms and I was spun around to face Morelli.

"Come on Cupcake, Tank is bringing his truck up. We'll meet Ranger at the hospital." Joe said with sympathy in his voice.

I allowed Joe to lead me away but I kept my eyes on the MedEvac chopper until is took off and moved out of sight.

Tank was idling about fifty feet away. Joe lifted me up into the backseat and slid in next to me as we pulled away.

"What about Scrog?" I asked angrier at him than I had ever been before in my life. "Was there any sign of him Tank?"

"No Steph, all of the locations were swept and there's no sign of him other than what we found in the barn. Cal and Hal and some of the team are staying behind to process the barn for anything we might have missed" Tank said, eyes still on the bumpy, winding road.

Just then my cell phone rang. The caller ID read _Unknown Caller_. I knew from the instant cramp in my stomach that it was Scrog.

I opened the call on speaker phone but didn't say anything.

"You think you're pretty clever don't you Stephanie?" Scrog's angry voice hissed over the line. "I can see that I underestimated you. No matter, it will only make it all the more sweet when I take you down, and I will take you down Stephanie. I'm just sorry that we didn't get to meet tonight like we'd planned." Scrog laughed. "I had a lovely evening planned for us my dear…"

I snapped the phone shut and turned the power off as I slid it into my handbag on the floor.

Tank and Joe looked at each other debating and then Tank spoke.

"Are you sure that was the best thing to do Steph? We still need to find him." Tank said, his voice calm and even.

"Yeah I'm sure, I'm sure that I don't care right now!" I snapped. "I need to focus on Ranger right now, he's all that matters. Scrog isn't going anywhere, he can just wait" I huffed, fury towards Scrog consuming me.

"What was he talking about Stephanie? Were you planning on meeting him tonight?" Joe asked, anger barely disguised.

"I was hoping it wouldn't be necessary and it isn't so let's just drop it" I said.

"You were _seriously_ going to try to sneak out and meet Scrog alone weren't you?" Joe asked disbelievingly, temper rising.

"I told you I will do what ever it takes to protect Ranger and make sure Scrog is eliminated, no matter what the cost." I sighed. "How much longer Tank and where the hell are we anyway?"

"About five more minutes Steph. We're in Princeton. Ranger was flown to Woodview Medical Center. It's a private hospital that we like to use when we can. The security is tight and they allow us to bring our guns in" Tank replied.

We pulled into the hospital campus, parking in a lot with an armed attendant. Once inside the doors we were told to head to the second floor Trauma Unit. Ranger was in radiology having a CT scan and other tests done assessing his injuries. The Dr. would look for us there as soon as he had any news.

We found a waiting room at the end of the hall. It was nicely furnished with big cushy club chairs instead of hard plastic ones and there was a large plasma television mounted on the wall. It was easy to see the difference between a pubic hospital like St. Francis and a private care hospital.

I took a seat by the window, my gaze pointed out the window but not actually taking in the scenery.

As I waited for word on Ranger I found myself lost in thought. Tank and Joe gave me space, they didn't try to talk to me and for that I was grateful. I didn't want to deal with anyone right then, I just wanted to know that Ranger was ok then I could worry about Scrog and about dodging my mother for the last few days and about all the other shit that's been going on in my joke of a life. I just couldn't believe that 24 hours ago Ranger and I were making love and agreeing to try a future together. And now, he's in a hospital, maybe fighting for his life, and I'm sitting here alone, not knowing if he even wants to be with me anymore.

I don't know how long we were sitting there but when I came back to reality it was very dark outside the window. I turned and noticed that the waiting room was now filled with Merry Men. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was 7:45 in the evening. We had been waiting here for over two hours.

Just then a Dr. came walking through a set of double doors marked _No Entry_. He was wearing a clean white lab coat. He was probably in his late thirties and his name tag proclaimed him to be Dr. Jason Wright. My stomach was in a knot waiting for the news.

Surprisingly he walked right over to me. I stood as he approached. "You must be Stephanie" he said extending his hand "I'm Dr. Wright."

"Oh, hello" I said surprised he knew my name, shaking his hand "Stephanie Plum."

"Carlos is going to be just fine" he said with a smile.

I almost collapsed with relief. A loud sob escaped before I could stop it.

Tank and the others hand gathered around behind me when the Dr. approached. I felt Tank place a steadying hand on my shoulder.

"He has a couple of large lacerations on his head and face that a plastic surgeon has already taken care of. He was able to use Dermabond surgical glue to close them so stitches won't be necessary. Carlos has a mild concussion and lots of bumps, bruises and scrapes on his body. Right now we're just waiting for him to wake up. He started to come around while he was in CT but he was agitated. He kept calling out to you Stephanie and trying to rip his IVs out so we had to sedate him.

It looks like he was given a sedative by his captor as suspected, probably Haldol. It sometimes causes aggression and confusion when given in a large dose. I imagine he'll be waking up within the next hour. If you'd like you can go in and see him, no more than two at a time though" Dr. Wright finished.

I reached out and pumped that Dr's hand, thanking him profusely.

"Thank you so much Dr. I couldn't bear it if I lost him" I said.

"You're very welcome Miss Plum. I'm a big fan of yours" he said with a wink retreating back through the door he came out of.

Morelli walked up to me "I'm really glad that he's ok Steph. Now make sure that you _both_ stay that way. Don't do anything foolish, I beg you! My reflux can't take much more. I'm going to head to the station and see if any leads have come in, then I'm going home to sleep. You wore me out. We'll talk tomorrow unless I find out anything good, then I'll call tonight. Take care Cupcake" Joe said with a chaste hug, then he was gone.

"Steph, do you want to go in alone or do you want me to come with you?" Tank asked.

"Come with me Tank, please" I said threading my arm through his taking comfort in his strength.

A nurse led us up to the 3rd floor then to Ranger's door. I stood outside the door, suddenly nervous about seeing him.

"You go ahead in Tank, I'll wait here" I said leaning against the wall to the side of the door.

"I'll just be a minute Steph" Tank said stepping into the room.

I stood there against the wall with my head back and eyes closed.

I heard the scuff of a shoe and opened my eyes to find Tank standing in front of me. "Go on in Steph, he's out but his vitals are good and he looks much better" Tank said. "I'll be standing guard at the end of the hall if you need me."

I took a deep breath and walked into the hospital room.

Ranger was lying very still, the head of the bed was inclined, his arms rested on top of the blanket. He was wearing a dark blue hospital gown

I quietly slid a chair next to the bed and settled in, taking in the sight before me.

Ranger's hair was slicked back from his face. There was an obvious wound above his left eyebrow. He had a dark purple bruise and a three inch long gash just above his brow that had been glued closed. The blood had been washed from his face and hair. I saw 4-5 small cuts on his left cheek. There was another two inch slice on the underside of his chin. No wonder there was so much blood, head wounds always bleed like crazy.

I looked at his arms. He had a big bruise on his right forearm. Both of his hands had multiple cuts and scrapes on them. His left hand was bruised around the knuckles and there was an IV sticking out of his right hand.

I was trying hard to be strong. I didn't want to cry, he was going to be fine but… "Shit" I whispered as the tears started flowing down my cheeks.

I bowed my head wiping my eyes with my sleeve, sniffling. When I looked up again, I found Ranger gazing back at me, his look serious.

"Babe" he whispered, his voice hoarse.

_**A/N – I am not a medical professional so I am winging it with all the drug and injury stuff and as far as I know there is no private hospital in Princeton called Woodview. Thanks for reading!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_I was trying hard to be strong. I didn't want to cry, he was going to be fine but… "Shit" I whispered as the tears started flowing down my cheeks._

_I bowed my head wiping my eyes with my sleeve, sniffling. When I looked up again, I found Ranger gazing back at me, his look serious._

"_Babe" he whispered, his voice hoarse._

_**Chapter Eleven**_

"Ranger" I breathed and threw myself on top of him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I realized a moment too late that I might hurt him. I went to jump back off but Ranger wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly to him.

"I'm sorry" I said, tears streaming from my eyes. I rubbed my cheek against his uninjured one and placed kisses on the side of his head. "I love you" I whispered, gently kissing his lips, looking deep in his eyes.

Ranger kissed me tenderly in return. "No Babe, I'm sorry."

"We don't have to talk about this now Ranger. I'm just so glad that you're alright."

I laid my head on his shoulder, snuggling closer into him. I never want to be without this I thought to myself. I need him.

We lay together for a few minutes just holding each other.

Ranger cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Babe, I have a question. What the hell happened to me? I feel like I got hit by a truck."

I sat up so I could look at him, leaning my arm across his legs to prop myself up. Ranger draped his arm across my hip, caressing my lower back with his bruised fingers.

"You got hit by a truck Ranger."

"My Turbo?" Ranger asked looking pained.

"It went to car heaven." Ranger just shook his head slowly. I saw him wince at the movement.

"Hey, just think, your Turbo has been reunited with the Boxster I blew to smithereens" I said with a playful smile.

"And your blue pickup and your CRX and your Civic and the 3 CRVs and my 4x4 and your Saturn. Should I continue?" Ranger said with a smile of his own.

"You're just lucky that you're injured Mister or you'd be in for a world of hurt for that comment" I said with a mock scowl.

After a few seconds I felt my face grow serious.

"I'm sorry about the way I treated you this morning. Twelve hours into our relationship and already I screwed it up" I said looking down at my hand on the bed. "And I didn't mean to pull away from you. I just felt like I didn't deserve to be comforted" I finished on a whisper, still not meeting his gaze.

"Babe" Ranger said pressing his hand beneath my chin to lift my gaze to his.

"You have _nothing_ to be sorry about. You asked an honest question that deserved an honest answer. I'm sorry I didn't give you one immediately, I just wasn't prepared to answer you" he said, his expression serious.

"It's ok Ranger. I don't need an answer. I don't regret anything that we've shared, other than it hurting Morelli. If things had happened differently we wouldn't be who we are now. I told you before that you're the best man I know, and I meant it."

Ranger reached out and tucked a curl behind my ear that had escaped my ponytail.

"Thank you for thinking so, even if I don't agree" he said quietly.

We were both quiet for a moment.

"Do you want to tell me what happened now?" Ranger asked.

"Do you mean from the time you ran out on me or from the accident on?" I asked, annoyance at his stupidity creeping into my voice.

"I just needed some air and some time to figure out what I didn't know how to explain to you. When I saw how upset you were in the bathroom, I wanted to comfort you. When you pulled back I saw disgust in your eyes and I realized that I haven't exactly treated you the way you deserved to be treated. That was a hard realization for me, so I ran. I'm sorry." He finished.

"Will you at least admit that leaving was stupid?" I asked.

"I try not to do things that are stupid Stephanie, but I've been known to make mistakes now and then where you're concerned" Ranger said sheepishly.

I had a feeling he was talking about more than running out today.

"I told you once that I expect you to talk to me if you have a problem with me, to not run away. I did exactly the opposite. It was stupid to run out on you, not only because it was the cowardly thing to do, but because something bad could have happened given the threat right now. I will try hard not to let it happen again. I haven't had much practice with this relationship stuff. This is a learning experience for me."

He gave me a small smile then reached out and ran his thumb across my lower lip. Ranger pulled me to him for a passionate kiss. When I noticed myself getting hot and bothered I remembered that he was injured and we were in a hospital room, even if it was a cushy homelike one.

I pulled back with a grin and said "Hey, you're concussed and need to take it easy."

Ranger just smiled and kissed me again. His hands were roaming down my back, approaching my ass.

The sound of a man's voice made me jump back guiltily, sliding off the bed and into the chair.

"Ah, Carlos, I see you're awake and from the looks of it not feeling too bad" Dr. Wright said with a laugh as he and Tank entered the room.

"Jason, it's good to see you" Ranger said with a smile.

I looked at Ranger confused.

"Babe, this is Jason Wright, he's married to my sister Celia."

Ranger quickly cut his eyes back to Jason "By the way, you didn't call her did you?" Ranger almost looked nervous.

"You don't even have any bullet holes, I didn't see the point" Jason said grinning.

"So what's the damage Doc?" Ranger asked.

"Minor concussion, two decent size cuts on your head. Doctor Phelps used Dermabond to glue them closed. You've got lots of bumps, bruises and scrapes but all in all, you're pretty damn lucky Carlos. I've seen pictures of what's left of the Porsche. How are you feeling?" Jason asked beginning to examine Ranger.

"Got a hell of a headache, a little sore all over, I feel like I got hit by a truck, which Stephanie tells me I did. Kid's stuff" Ranger said with a shrug of his shoulder.

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

"No, I remember waiting for a light out on Bear Tavern Road and then the next thing I remember is waking up here about 15 minutes ago."

"What the hell were you doing way out there? Were you going to the house?" Jason asked.

My first thought was _house, what house_. My second thought hit me like a brick. Ranger doesn't know about Scrog.

Tank had the realization at the same moment. We exchanged a look which of course Ranger didn't miss.

"Tank, what am I not remembering?" Ranger asked sternly, asserting his position as Tank's boss.

I looked at Tank again and decided that I should be the one to explain.

Dr. Wright said "I'll give you guys some privacy, ring the buzzer if you need anything" as he walked out the door.

"After you left Rangeman I got a call on my cell from Scrog. I don't know how long you'd been gone at that point, I think maybe 20-30 minutes."

I took a deep breath and continued.

"Anyway, Scrog said that he had some exciting news, that I'd never guess who he just ran into. Then he said he had work to finish and he'd be in touch again soon."

"About half an hour or so later Tank got a call from the police. They said they found your Turbo crashed but they had searched the site and you were missing. We left immediately for the crash site and while we were on scene Scrog called me again. This time he said that he saw you by chance waiting at that light and he knew that it was fate. He rammed you with his truck, pushing the Turbo until it rolled down the embankment into the ditch where it settled upside-down. Then he cut you from the wreckage and took you."

"He had you cuffed, shackled and sedated in a barn belonging to the Forestry Service within Washington Crossing Park. We got you out and you were airlifted here by a MedEvac helicopter. You were missing for about 7 hours." I finished quietly, my stomach sick from replaying the story.

Ranger wasn't saying anything. His expression was barely controlled fury. He was struggling to maintain his composure.

"Steph was great Ranger, she's the only reason we found you. If she hadn't picked up on a couple of tiny details, who knows where you'd be now. She put the rest of us to shame" Tank said.

Ranger had not said a word since I started recounting the tale of his accident, capture and rescue. He had settled into his blank face but after listening to Tank his look softened.

"Proud of you Babe" Ranger said is a quiet voice. My heart soared at his words. Of course he didn't know that I was planning to meet Scrog alone tonight to try to save him had we not gotten him out already.

"She was the one who noticed the floor boards in the picture, she knew that you were being held in a barn or shed. And she was the one who realized that you had to be near by" Tank continued.

"What picture?" Ranger asked through clenched teeth.

"While we were at the accident scene my cell rang again. Scrog asked me if I was impressed with the damage, with his work. That was when Scrog told me that he had cut you loose and was keeping you drugged. He said he would be sending me a message in a few minutes. When I got the message it was a picture of you" I said. I didn't really want to show Ranger the picture, I knew it would be hard for him to bear.

"I want to see it."

I reluctantly pulled out my cell phone and powered it back on. As I worked to pull up the picture I noticed that I had two new voice mails. I didn't want to know, so I ignored them.

I passed the phone to Ranger. I saw his jaw tighten then his look again passed from one of undisguised rage to his emotionless blank mask.

"Status?" he bit out between clenched teeth.

"No sign of him and nothing of use at the scene" Tank said.

"He'll contact me again Ranger, he always does. We'll deal with it when he calls. Right now you need to get better" I said pulling the phone from Ranger's death grip and discreetly turning it off as I slipped it into my purse.

"You should get some sleep Boss. Jason said it's ok to sleep but they'll be in periodically to check on you because of the head injury. You need to sleep too Steph, it's been a long-ass day." Tank said with a yawn.

"Tank, bring Stephanie back to my apartment. I imagine I'll be cleared to leave in the morning. I'll have Les and Bobby pick me up so you can stay with Steph at Rangeman" Ranger said.

"No" I said firmly.

Ranger tried to raise an eyebrow at me but wound up hissing in pain because of his injuries.

"I'm staying here with you."

Ranger looked at me considering. "Are you sure? It would be safer at Rangeman and certainly more comfortable."

"I'm positive. I don't want to let you out of my sight for at least…two months" I said with a sad smile. He probably had no idea that I was serious.

"Alright Babe. Tank, let the nurses know on your way out that Steph is spending the night. She'll need bedding for the pull-out" Ranger said.

"Will do Boss. Woody and Ram are on guard. Call me when you get the all clear to come home. Get well, we've got some major ass to kick" Tank said to Ranger bumping fists with him.

Tank looked at me. "Steph, Lula said to tell you to call anytime, day or night" he said with a smile.

"Tell her thanks Tank. I've been awful the last few days. I haven't even talked to my mother since the day before Scrog showed up, she's probably ironing the toilet paper" I said feeling guilty.

"I called her yesterday while you were upstairs with Morelli" Ranger said. "She was worried. She just wants to know that you're safe, so I called to reassure her. I told her not to worry, that I was taking care of you" Ranger said.

I couldn't believe that Ranger had called my Mom. It was just another example of Ranger realizing my needs before I even know what I need. There was a time that I would have been upset by someone wanting to "take care" of me. I'm not some helpless puppy after all. But that has changed. I knew that when Ranger said he wanted to take care of me, he didn't mean because I couldn't take care of myself. He just loves me and wants me to be happy and to show me how important I am to him.

I gave Ranger a warm smile to say thanks.

"Tank, get some sleep buddy and be careful. Thank you for everything" I said, excusing myself to the bathroom.

I looked at myself in the mirror and stifled a shriek. My hair, which had been pulled into a ponytail now had curls spilling out and sticking up everywhere. I had mud on my face and straw in my hair. I had dark circles below my eyes and the whites of my eyes were bloodshot.

"Sexy" I said to myself as I washed the mud from my face and picked the straw from my hair. I let down my ponytail and gave my head a shake. Oh boy, I looked like I'd been electrocuted. Not much else I could do, I needed a shower and a change of clothes.

As I stepped back into Ranger's room I saw a nurse checking his vitals. She turned to me about to say something but the words died on her lips at the startling sight of my hair.

She stuck out an arm, pointing to a bag on the pull-out. "Shower" was all she managed to say.

"Go ahead Babe, I'll be fine" Ranger said. "I want to check in with the Comm. Room anyway."

"No, no work, rest!" I said adamantly.

"Ok, ok Babe, don't worry, I'll lie here and do nothing while I wait for you, really."

I took the bag and padded back into the bathroom. I pulled out the contents and set each item on the counter. There was a pair of grey and white cotton pajama pants, matching white t-shirt, white cotton bikini panties and white ankle socks. There was a lightweight grey cotton robe and white terry cloth slippers. At the bottom of the bag I found a plastic zippered case containing shampoo, conditioner, tooth brush, toothpaste, a bar of Dove soap, disposable woman's razor, shaving cream and a bottle of moisturizer for my face. Wow, if all this stuff came from the hospital they really go all out. I might as well be at the Ritz.

I peeled off my grimy clothes and the ankle holster and gun from my leg. I had left the loaded utility belt in Ranger's night table drawer. I turned the water on scalding hot and stepped under the spray. I spent about 10 minutes washing away the dirt, grime and horror of the day. By the time I was washed, conditioned and shaved I was also a wrinkly prune. My body felt much more relaxed after the hot water therapy but my mind was still abuzz. I dressed in the night clothes that were provided and toweled my hair as dry as I could get it. I wiped the steam from the mirror, brushed my teeth then stepped out of the bathroom turning off the light.

The pull-out loveseat had been made up with cream colored sheets and a robin's egg blue down blanket. Wow, they even have turn-down service here.

I looked at Ranger and at first glance thought that he was asleep but then I noticed his eyes were open just a tiny bit. It looked like the nurse must have given him some pain medicine. He didn't seem to notice me approaching him though so maybe he was asleep after all.

I walked over and took his hand in both of mine, he didn't move. "Goodnight Ranger…I don't know what I would have done if I lost you" I whispered and bent over to kiss his lips softly. Quick as lightening he pulled me down against him and rolled on top of me deepening the kiss. I couldn't help the muffled squeal that escaped my lips.

Ranger pulled away with a devilish smile. "Gotcha" he said rolling to lie beside me. It was then that I noticed he was no longer connected to an IV. He still had the heparin lock in the back of his hand but no more tubes.

I snuggled into him with a contented sigh, his arms wrapped fully around me. When I spoke it was little more than a whisper.

"Today was really, really hard for me. I'm sorry for all the times I put you through the same thing. I hope we never have to go through it again" I said, really, really meaning it.

"I'm sorry too Babe."

I went to get up and move to the pull-out but Ranger held me tight against him, nuzzling my hair. "Stay with me Babe, please. If I can't make love to you let me at least hold you."

"Ok" I said not wanting to let him go either. "I really do love you ya know" I whispered.

"Yeah, I know and I love you too. Thanks for saving my life Stephanie."

"It's the least I could do. I owe you my life more times over than I can count."

"Remember Babe, there's no price for what we give each other."

I made a happy sound and rubbed my cheek against his.

"Sweet dreams Babe" Ranger said as I fell into a peaceful sleep.

_A/N - Thank you for contuining to read and review. This chapter has been ready for days but there were issues with getting it posted. Hugs, Heidi_


	12. Chapter 12

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

"_Ok" I said not wanting to let him go either. "I really do love you ya know" I whispered._

"_Yeah, I know and I love you too. Thanks for saving my life Stephanie."_

"_It's the least I could do. I owe you my life more times over than I can count."_

"_Remember Babe, there's no price for what we give each other."_

_I made a happy sound and rubbed my cheek against his._

"_Sweet dreams Babe" Ranger said as I fell into a peaceful sleep._

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**Smut Warning**_

I woke up feeling relaxed and peaceful. I reached out for Ranger but only felt cool sheets. I blinked my eyes open surprised that he was not in bed with me.

Rolling over, I found him sitting in a chair close to the bed, watching me with a thoughtful expression on his face. He was wearing black sweatpants and a black t-shirt. His hair was still damp from his shower and he smelled great.

By the light of day his face was looking pretty battered. He had several colorful bruises on his cheeks and chin that I hadn't noticed last night. The area around his forehead laceration was purple, swollen and painful looking.

"Yo" I said sitting up and stretching, my arms high above my head.

"Sleep well Babe?" Ranger asked reaching out and running a finger up the exposed skin of my arm.

"Yeah, I don't remember a thing from the time my head hit the pillow" I said and it was true, well maybe my head was on Ranger not the pillow but, no matter.

"So I guess you don't remember groping me all night long or climbing on top of me and rubbing against me" Ranger said with a smile.

I blushed to the roots of my hair and made to climb out the opposite side of the bed. Ranger jumped out of his chair and pulled me down on top of him on the bed, holding me tightly to him.

"Babe, don't worry, I enjoyed every minute of it" Ranger said then he kissed me.

I felt bad because his mouth was minty fresh and mine…well it just wasn't minty fresh.

Ranger pulled back and smiled at me. If he noticed my morning breath he certainly didn't show it. Ranger slid me off of him to sit on the side of the bed. He sat up and I leaned into his side as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders hugging me against him.

"How are you feeling today? I see that you're looking a little colorful with all those bruises" I said reaching up and gently touching his bruised cheek.

"I'm fine Babe. Jason stopped in when he came on at 7:00 and said I should be able to leave by noon. I won't even have any special instructions or limitations. I'll be back to full duty as of tomorrow."

I let out an unconscious sigh. I normally can't stand hospitals. I hate the smells, I hate the crowdedness, I hate the announcements over the PA paging doctors and calling codes at all hours of the day and night. But there was none of that here. This was a luxury hotel room with doctors and nurses who stopped by from time to time.

I was actually enjoying our time here. I felt like we could safely relax and I was almost totally able to block out all thoughts of Edward Scrog. If I tried hard enough I could almost convince myself that Ranger was in an accident and that was it. I knew that the denial had to stop eventually but I just wanted to hold on a little longer.

Once we went back to Rangeman we would get absorbed in the task of trying to locate Scrog. I wished he would just get a life and move on, or better yet, take a long walk off a short pier. But even with all of my denial, I didn't think either was likely.

I kissed Ranger on the cheek then stood up from the bed heading for the bathroom. I turned and sent him a wobbly smile then stepped inside, closing and locking the door.

I did my business and decided to take a shower while I got my mind back under control.

I showered and dried off then realized I had a problem. I didn't have any clothes. I wrapped a towel around my hair and another around my body. I was standing in front of the mirror contemplating putting my pajamas and panties back on when there was a light rap at the door.

"Babe, I've got some of your things for you" Ranger called through the door.

I unlocked the door and eased it open partially. Ranger peeked around the door, took in my outfit and decided to join me in the bathroom. He stepped inside closing and locking the door behind him. He gave me a wolf grin then stepped closer, dropping what I recognized as my duffle bag on the floor under the counter.

Ranger hooked a finger over the top of my towel and caressed the damp skin between my breasts before giving a little tug, dropping the towel to the floor.

I watched him intently as his gaze raked over my naked body. When his eyes returned to mine he quirked a crooked grin then his eyes flicked up to the towel I had wrapped around my head turban style.

Ranger reached out with both hands freeing my unruly curls from their binding. He threaded his fingers into my hair on both sides and gave it a shake, fluffing up my curls.

"What my hair wasn't scary enough already, it needed poofing?" I asked ignoring the mirror. I was afraid that if I looked Medusa in the eye I might turn to stone.

Ranger leaned in close to my ear, his hands in my hair again. "I love your curls Steph. They're wild, untamed and sexy" he said licking the shell of my ear, "just like you" he finished in a husky voice before claiming my mouth is a feverish kiss.

I brought my hands up to the back of his head holding him to me while we devoured each other. I caught his bottom lip between my teeth and gave it a nibble.

Ranger slid his hands down to my bare breasts, squeezing and kneading them, his thumbs brushing the nipples sending jolts of heat straight to my core.

A moan escaped from deep inside of me and I pressed my body against his. I ran my hands down his back, sliding them under his waistband to caress his ass. I pulled my hands out and brought them up and around to the front, scraping my fingernails over his hardened nipples through his t-shirt. I grabbed the bottom of the shirt and started to lift it. Ranger pulled back from the kiss and finished the job for me, tossing the shirt aside.

I moved my mouth to Ranger's neck, kissing up to his ear then back down to his collarbone. I slid my tongue across his skin settling at the place where his shoulder and neck met. I sucked the skin into my mouth and pulled.

Ranger's hands were roaming over my body as I continued to suck at his skin. He had his eyes closed and his head thrown back.

He pressed his body against mine, backing me up against the wall.

I gasped as the coldness of the tile made contact with the warm skin of my back. Ranger snapped his head up and looked at me through desire laden eyes. He took half a step back and slid off his sweatpants stepping out of them along with his socks. I stood up straight taking in his naked body, wanting him badly.

Ranger charged me, pressing me against the wall again, and again I gasped at the coldness on my skin.

Ranger kissed me frantically, pulling his lips back a fraction of an inch to grind out "I love it when you gasp like that Stephanie, I can barely control myself when I hear it." He claimed my mouth again sliding a hand down over my hip and in-between our bodies. His fingers found my wet heat and I couldn't help the catch in my breath as he thrust two fingers inside of me and pressed his thumb against my clit.

I tore my lips away from his and threw my arms around his neck, holding on for dear life as he worked me with his talented fingers. I laid my head on his shoulder panting against his neck. I groaned and shuttered as the orgasm crashed through me hot and dizzy.

Ranger withdrew his hand and held me around the waist while I got my bearings.

I looked up into his face and kissed him for all I was worth. I kissed his neck and his sculpted shoulder. I licked his nipples and sucked them into my mouth. I dropped to my knees and licked my way down his rock hard abs, swirling my tongue around his navel.

Ranger grabbed at my arms, trying to make me stand back up.

"No" I said grabbing onto his hips. "I want to, Ranger. Please let me do this."

He didn't say a word but he moved his hands to rest on my shoulders. I looked Ranger in the eye and then with a crooked grin of my own I licked the tip of his length. When I heard Ranger hiss at the sensation I took him into my mouth, twirling my tongue and sucking lightly. I looked at him again and held his gaze as I brought him deeper into my mouth, sliding him in and out, caressing him with my tongue. I slid a hand down from his hip and gave his balls a squeeze.

"Babe…please…stop" Ranger gritted out while again attempting to pick me up. Since I was looking forward to what would happen next, I allowed him to pull me to my feet.

I was caught off guard when Ranger grabbed my thighs and lifted me up, sliding me down onto him, burying himself to the hilt all at once, pressing my back again the wall.

I wrapped my legs around him as he started to pump into me. His movements were frantic, his breathing loud and rough. Ranger's obvious loss of control only flamed my desire more. I scratched my nails down his back and Ranger fused his lips over mine, the dueling of our tongues in-time to Ranger's thrusting. I turned my head to the side as Ranger kissed my neck and caught our reflection in the mirror. It was far more erotic than anything I had even scene before. Ranger's muscles were flexing with each movement. I barely recognized the wanton woman in the mirror. I turned back to Ranger attacking his lips again.

I felt the heat starting to build and knew I was only seconds away from another orgasm. There were moans and animalistic noises coming out of me that sounded foreign even to my own ears.

"Fuck" I panted pulling my head away, trying not to hyperventilate.

I looked at Ranger and the look of pure abandon on his face was enough to give me that final push over the edge. I rode the waves that coursed through me. As my walls contracted I felt Ranger spasm deep inside of me as we came together.

Almost immediately we were sliding down the wall, Ranger's legs unable to support us. He was on his knees with me straddling his lap, my back still against the wall.

I rested my head against Ranger's shoulder and that's when I realized that I had tears on my cheeks.

Ranger noticed at the same time and pulled back concerned.

"Did I hurt you Babe?" He asked touching my tears with the tips of his fingers.

"No" I said resting my head back on his shoulder, lips close to his neck. "It's just…that was really…intense. I've never felt anything like that before. It was like I couldn't tell where I ended and you began. I never knew sex could be like that" I said feeling a little embarrassed but intensely emotional in my post-coital bliss.

"I know Babe" Ranger said stroking my neck with his fingers. "I've never felt a connection to anyone in my life like I feel with you. Sex was never about emotions for me before I met you. But this, what we share, is love making on the greatest level possible." He kissed me gently then lifted me up to stand, up righting himself as well.

"Let's take a quick shower and get back out there before someone comes looking for us" Ranger said with a sweet smile.

A hard knock on the door made us both jump.

"Mr. Manoso, are you alright in there? The emergency cord in your bathroom was pulled sending an alarm to the nurses' station" a woman, presumably a nurse, asked through the door.

Ranger and I turned to look at the wall where we had been leaning and sure enough there was the emergency cord. It must have gotten pulled as we slid down the wall although I certainly didn't notice it.

"I'm sorry. It was not pulled intentionally, I'm fine" Ranger said calmly, almost smile on his lips.

"What about Ms. Plum? Is she in there with you?" The nurse asked.

"Yes she is and we're both fine, thank you" Ranger said, now wearing a full-on Ranger smile as I turned ten shades of red.

"Ok then, ring again if you need anything. Dr. Wright is on his way up now" she said.

Ranger stepped close to me, placing his hand on the side of my neck. "Maybe we better just wash up and get out of here" Ranger said placing another kiss on my lips.

"Yeah" I said turning toward the sink.

A few minutes later, clean and fully dressed, well except for shoes, we walked out of the bathroom together to find not only Jason waiting for us but also Tank, Bobby and Lester and they were all _smiling._

I wanted to turn around and hide in the bathroom for like the rest of my life, but Ranger wrapped an arm around my waist and led me further into the hospital room. Ranger took a seat on the side of the bed and pulled me down to sit between his knees, my back to his front, his arms wrapped around my neck loosely.

"So nice of you to join us" Jason said with a chuckle. "You seem to be good as new today Carlos, maybe better if that hickey on your neck and the accidentally pulled alarm are any indication. You know I didn't clear you for sex yet" Jason said with a belly laugh picking up a clipboard with papers on it.

Tank, Lester and Bobby joined in the laugh but shut up quickly with one look from Ranger. Of course that made me laugh a little but I camouflaged it well with a cough I think.

I moved to sit in a chair across the room as Jason gave Ranger a quick once-over, looking into his eyes with the penlight, having him do a few quick neurological tests.

Jason handed Ranger the clipboard and said "Sign here and you're a free man. Your sister is expecting a call by the way. She wants to know all about the lady friend staying in your room with you" he added with a grin.

"Oh great. You had to tell her didn't you? What ever happened to doctor/patient confidentiality?" Ranger asked signing the forms and tossing the clip-board back to Jason.

"Oh come on Carlos, you know your sister. I'd rather face a medical ethics board any day of the week than piss her off."

Hmm…maybe I don't want to rush into meeting Celia, I thought to myself.

We gathered our things together and headed out of the hospital. We were met in the lobby by Cal and Hal. There were three Rangeman SUVs parked in the fire lane. Ranger and I were loaded into the one in the middle where Woody was already behind the wheel. Cal and Hal piled into the rear car and Bobby and Lester climbed into their vehicle. Tank rode shot gun with us. Our caravan headed out of the gated entrance and in about half an hour we were back upstairs in Ranger's apartment.

I went to the kitchen to say hello to Rex, dropping some raisins and cheerios into his cage. Ranger walked up behind me a moment later.

"So what do you want to do for the rest of the day Babe?" He asked circling his arms around me from behind, watching Rex stash his booty.

"I figured you'd be back to work already" I said softly.

"Nope, I'm offline until 6:00 tomorrow morning. For the rest of today I'm all yours Babe."

Oh boy I thought as he started kissing my neck.

_A/N - My muse has been very lazy lately. I was having a horrible time trying to wake her up. What better way to get her going than with Babe smut. I wasn't ready for more heavy duty plot. I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys rock! _


	13. Chapter 13

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_I went to the kitchen to say hello to Rex, dropping some raisins and cheerios into his cage. Ranger walked up behind me a moment later._

"_So what do you want to do for the rest of the day Babe?" He asked circling his arms around me from behind, watching Rex stash his booty._

"_I figured you'd be back to work already" I said softly._

"_Nope, I'm offline until 6:00 tomorrow morning. For the rest of today I'm all yours Babe."_

_Oh boy I thought as he started kissing my neck._

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

I woke up alone in Ranger's bed at 8:00 the next morning.

Ranger had woken me at 5:00 saying he was going to workout in the gym. He invited me to join him of course but I quickly declined. I wasn't sure I would be able to _walk_ after the 14 hour marathon sex yesterday, forget about running on a treadmill.

Ranger just chuckled at me, kissed me softly and set the alarm clock for 8 a.m.

I sat up gingerly taking stock of my body. Yow. Well, sitting up is pretty damn uncomfortable, let's try standing. As I stood up I realized that I was standing in Ranger's apartment completely naked and I didn't know when Ella would be in. Better make a run for it I told myself and scurried into the bathroom.

I noticed a Post-It note on the mirror with Ranger's familiar scrawl.

_Babe,_

_I'll be in meetings until 10:00 or so. I'll check in with you then. Feel free to come downstairs if you are ready first._

_--R_

Sigh.

After using the toilet I hopped straight into the shower.

I stood there letting the hot water pound down on me easing the aches from my overly-used body. I didn't even realize I had muscles in some of the places I ached. Ranger is one creative man I thought with a lecherous grin. I can't wait to get him alone again.

I enjoyed washing with Ranger's luscious shower gel and by the time I stepped out I felt refreshed and ready to face the day.

I dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved grey thermal shirt. I did the hair and makeup thing and looked at myself in the mirror.

Shit. Anyone who takes one look at me will know I've had sex, a _lot_ of sex, a lot of _mind-blowing_ sex.

I blew out a sigh, oh well, nothing I can do about it now. Hey at least all the love bites are hidden beneath my clothes.

I pulled on a pair of black low-heeled boots and walked out into the kitchen. I found a tray waiting for me on the breakfast bar.

Ella had left me a blueberry muffin, a carafe of coffee and a note to look in the microwave. I pulled open the door and found a plate with an omelet, 3 links of sausage and a hash brown. A note rested on top.

_Remove cover and heat for 1-1/2 minutes on high. Call me if you would like anything else, it's no trouble dear._

_Ella_

I heated up my food and sat down at the breakfast bar to eat with a cup of coffee.

I polished off the eggs, sausage and hash browns, saving the muffin for later.

I brushed my teeth, fluffed up my hair and got ready to head downstairs to the control center.

I stopped at the sideboard to gather my stuff together. I pulled my slim wallet out of my purse and slid it into my back pocket. I pulled out my keys tucking them into a front pocket. I grabbed my Sig but didn't really think it was necessary to be armed in the Rangeman building. On second thought, I guess it's always best to be prepared and Ranger likes it when I carry my gun. He thinks I look sexy with a gun strapped to my person. He's a strange, strange man. Joe always broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of me with a gun.

I walked into the dressing room and found a clip-on holster. I snapped it onto my belt and slid the gun in place.

I walked back to my purse and reached inside. My fingers closed around my cell phone. I didn't want to turn it back on but I didn't think I could avoid it any longer. I carried the phone with me into the kitchen to get a drink. My throat suddenly felt tight. It was probably a lump of impending doom.

I took a couple of deep breaths and powered the phone on. I waited through the boot-up process with my eyes closed.

When I opened my eyes the screen read _2 new text messages – 9 new voicemail messages_. Oh shit.

It had been about 36 hours since I hung up on Scrog and turned the phone off. Who knows what's been going on in that sick, demented, psycho mind of his?

Hey, maybe I'm worried over nothing. Maybe they're all from my mother. Deny as long as possible, I thought.

Ok, let's do the text messages first since there are fewer of them.

_1ST TEXT MESSAGE:_

_Great news! Cingular Wireless has added a new tower on Turnpike Road in North Trenton for the fewest dropped calls of any network._

_SENT BY: NETWORK SERVICES_

Well hey, that's a great message! Maybe Cingular added another tower somewhere else so they sent a second text message.

_2ND TEXT MESSAGE:_

_You can run but you can't hide. You will both go down one way or another, even if it's the last thing I do. The angels are waiting for us Babe. Love, Ranger_

_SENT BY: BLOCKED SENDER_

The time stamp on the message was from right after I hung up on him.

Ah crap, so much for denial I thought as my stomach rolled with anxiety.

Ok Steph, be tough, you can't just delete nine voicemails, that wouldn't do anyone any good, right? Well, actually…it would make my day a lot easier. No Steph, suck it up.

_1st Message – From: Unknown Number – "Don't EVER hang up on me" hissed Edward Scrog. "You will be very, very sorry for disrespecting me Stephanie." BEEP_

Hey, I wonder how he found out about Ranger's aversion to being hung up on! I tried to joke but it didn't work.

_2nd Message – From: Area code 609-565-1234 – "Hey Steph it's Mary Lou. Listen, Little Lenny is turning six next week as you know and I didn't know where to mail the party invitation because Stacey Fuller told me she heard from Jessica Hanson who heard from Christie Parker that Jenna Jankowitz who cleans offices at the police station said you found another dead guy in your apartment and now someone wants to kill you AGAIN so you're hiding out with that hottie Ranger. Oh my god Steph, that guy makes me want to wet my pants just looking at him, you are so lucky, and so anyway"…BEEP_

I guess Mary Lou exceeding the maximum time allowed per message. I had to smile at that.

_3rd Message – From: Area code 609-565-1234 – "Steph it's me again **DON'T YOU TOUCH THAT MISTER OR YOU WILL HAVE A SEVERE PUNISHMENT, I MEAN IT!** Sorry Steph, anyway just call me, bye-bye, kisses." BEEP_

Oh, the life of a Burg Mom.

_4th Message – From: Area code 609-565-4242 – "Stephanie it's your mother. What's this I hear that you dumped poor Joseph? Why would you do something so_ _foolish? Call me when you get this message and I expect you both for dinner soon." BEEP_

Oh dear lord, how did she hear about it already?!?

_5th Message – From: Unknown Number – I don't think you realize who you're dealing with Stephanie Plum. I am never unprepared. I will always be one step ahead of you. I have thought of everything. You may have delayed my work but you will not stop it. Just wait." BEEP_

His voice was cold and sent chills up my spine. This guy was a psychopath to a new degree.

_6th Message – From: Area code 609-226-3466 – "Cupcake it's Joe. Call me when you and Manoso decide to come up for air. Tank says you're cough busy until tomorrow morning, Christ. Anyway Steph, I really need to talk to you about a couple of things. It's…it's important. Call me ok, bye." BEEP_

Seems like maybe Joe knows something I don't. I shudder to think what that might be. I am also not too keen on the thought of Joe knowing Ranger and I had sex, never mind talking about it. Ewww.

_7th Message – From: Area code 609-565-4242 – Stephanie Plum, this is your mother. Gloria Cavalero was waiting to buy a pork roast at Giovichinni's Market and she overheard Angie Morelli tell Clara Steiner that you cheated on poor Joseph! How could you do such a thing after all you went through with Dickie? Call me right away! Tell me it's not true Stephanie, please! Oh why me?" BEEP_

I banged my head on the counter a few times for good measure. Where the hell did she hear that? Ugh!

_8th Message – From: Area code 978-435-7965 – "You're hiding because you're overcome by fear. I can smell your fear from a mile away, not that I'm always that far away I've managed to get pretty close to you. (Chuckle) You'd better turn your fucking phone back on and stop ignoring me. I don't like to be ignored and I won't tolerate it._

_You know Stephanie, you have quite an interesting family. I bet your mother cooks a hell of a pot roast, she looks like the type. And your father, he only drives around in that cab all day to get away from your crazy old Granny. And then there's your sister. I don't know what to make of her and her doughboy boyfriend Kloughn, but the girls…ah, three beautiful little girls. I've missed having a kid around since I lost Julie. (Evil laugh) You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them, now would you Stephanie? The kindness of your heart will be your downfall." BEEP_

The last voicemail had come in about twenty minutes ago.

I slid down to sit on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. I was stunned. I always thought that it was Ranger he really wanted, not me. I never thought that bastard would use my family to get to me.

I didn't know what to do next. I knew that I should go down and talk to Ranger, or at least the guys in the control room, play them the messages. But I had to make sure my family was safe first and Ranger was in a meeting until 10:00. That's almost another hour away.

How can I make sure my family is safe but not actually talk to or face my mother? Hmmm.

I picked my cell up and dialed Morelli. He answered on the second ring.

"Joe, it's me" I said my voice a little shaky just like my insides.

"Steph, what's wrong? Oh shit, you talked to your mother" Joe said quickly.

"No, I didn't talk to her. But now that you mentioned it she left me a voicemail saying your mother is telling everyone in the Burg how I cheated on you and then dumped you."

"Shit" I heard Joe say under his breath. "I told my mother that we broke up. I never said anything about cheating. I'm sorry Steph. I didn't want to tell her anything. I thought I'd save that until after this Scrog mess is cleaned up. But she called to remind us about Uncle Gino's birthday dinner Sunday at Marsillio's. I had to tell her that you wouldn't be there so they didn't pay for a plate for you. So I told her we broke up."

"Unh, huh" I said, waiting to hear where the cheating part came from.

"My mother wanted to know why we broke up. And before I could say anything Grandma Bella chimes in with how she knew _all along_ that you were actually a lesbian because of those masculine boots you wear. I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing and told them that you aren't a lesbian, you're in love with another man. It just sort of popped out. My mother must have assumed that you cheated to have a new man so soon. I would never have said that to her Stephanie. I would never say anything like that to anyone" he finished quietly.

I wanted to be worried about my reputation around town, regardless of the truth of her accusations, but I didn't have the time. I had bigger issues to deal with.

"Listen Joe, I can't worry about it right now. I have major problems."

"What happened Steph?"

"Scrog left me a bunch of messages. He's threatening to do something to my family if necessary to get my attention. I just want to make sure that they're safe without scaring them too much or dealing with my mother myself. Do you think maybe you could step up the patrols in my parents' and Val's neighborhood? And…" I paused "do you think maybe you could stop by and check on them and talk to them a little, tell them to be watchful. It's just…" Joe cut me off.

"Stephanie, why aren't you having Ranger take care of this?" Joe asked.

I sighed.

"My mother knows you Joe. She'd feel more comfortable if you talked to her than she would with Ranger I think. If I call her then I'll have to talk to her about us breaking up and then she'll start the Hungarian Inquisition about Ranger and me. _Stephanie, are you really with that Ranger guy? Where do you see things going with him? Will you finally grow up and settle down? Is he even willing to marry you? Are you sure you can't get Joseph to take you back?"_ I said in my best mock-mom voice.

"I just don't want to have to explain to her that Ranger and I will never have the normal kind of life she hopes that I'll have, with marriage and kids and a picket fence. I'm still trying to cope with that fact myself" I finished feeling worn out already.

"Steph, I think you should be talking to Ranger about this, about _all_ of this. This isn't just about what's going on with Scrog. You guys are together now. You should be working together as a team."

Joe chuckled sadly "Isn't it ironic? When you were with me, you always turned to him for help. Now that you're with him, you're calling me. Take my advice Cupcake, don't keep shit from him. Men don't appreciate it. Does he even know about your hair-brained scheme to sneak out while he was missing?" Joe asked.

I put my finger to my eye to try to stop the twitching.

"No, Joe. Ranger _doesn't_ know that I was planning to sneak out and meet Scrog while he was missing and I want it to stay that way. I still have every intention of doing it if the need arises. Scrog has to be eliminated" I said feeling flustered. We were wasting time.

"Steph..." Joe said.

"No, you know what Joe? Forget that I asked you for help. I'll take care of it myself" I said snapping the phone shut.

I composed myself for a minute, my head in my hands. When I turned around to get up I saw Ranger standing in the kitchen doorway. His expression was hard to read, not his usual blank face. I had a feeling the expression was a combination of anger, betrayal and disappointment.

"Ranger" I said, wanting to soften the blow of what he must have heard.

"I think you have some explaining to do Stephanie" Ranger said through gritted teeth.

Damn it, why is it that every time things get good with Ranger, it gets royally screwed up?

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked with an innocent smile. I was hoping he didn't overhear the whole conversation.

Ranger just continued to look at me, his face unwavering. I think I'm in trouble.

_A/N - Thank you to those who keep reading and reviewing. You guys rock!_


	14. Chapter 14

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_I composed myself for a minute, my head in my hands. When I turned around to get up I saw Ranger standing in the kitchen doorway. His expression was hard to read, not his usual blank face. I had a feeling the expression was a combination of anger, betrayal and disappointment._

"_Ranger" I said, wanting to soften the blow of what he must have heard._

"_I think you have some explaining to do Stephanie" Ranger said through gritted teeth._

_Damn it, why is it that every time things get good with Ranger, it gets royally screwed up?_

"_How long have you been standing there?" I asked with an innocent smile. I was hoping he didn't overhear the whole conversation._

_Ranger just continued to look at me, his face unwavering. I think I'm in trouble._

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

I blew out a sigh and slid back onto the stool.

"What do you want me to explain Ranger?" I asked.

"Well for starters you can explain to me why you called Morelli just now instead of calling me. Then you can explain to me what you meant by you're "still trying to cope" with our relationship. And then, hey you might as well explain to me what the HELL you were thinking agreeing to sneak out and meet Scrog!"

The intensity of his voice was steadily rising but it was little more than a stern tone.

Ranger was angry. Even angrier than the time I snuck off to Point Pleasant and left the panic button behind.

Well I was pretty damn angry myself!

"I was thinking that I love you and I would do whatever I had to do to bring Scrog down and get you out safe" I yelled at him.

"And you thought that I would be ok with you jeopardizing yourself to save me?" Ranger asked, a look of disbelief on his face.

"No, I didn't. I knew that you wouldn't be ok with it, but that wasn't your decision to make. It's my life, it's my decision if I want to risk it or not."

I was fuming! Of all the hypocritical things for him to say!

"What would you have done Ranger, huh?"

"Steph…" Ranger started.

"No Ranger. It's what you would have done. It's what you HAVE done. You went into my apartment as a target hoping to talk to Scrog and get us all out safe. That was my goal too."

"It's not the same Stephanie. I'm trained to do this sort of thing, you're not" he retorted.

"Excuse me? I may not be the best BEA in the business but my instincts are good and my capture rate is high. So what if I wasn't a hotshot Special Forces guy, that doesn't mean that I'm incompetent."

"You're not incompetent Steph, I've never thought that. But you were planning to go into a meeting with a known psychopath without back-up and without telling anyone where you were going! That's a recipe for disaster, for getting you or both of us killed" he hissed.

"When I went into your apartment there was a whole team of people waiting to bust in at any moment if necessary and we had the medics waiting around the corner. I was prepared! I wasn't going to go in there half-assed without a plan and risk getting us all killed" Ranger said angrily.

Shit, I thought to myself. He's right. I folded my arms on the counter and laid my head on top. My eyes were closed, my head bowed in defeat.

"Stephanie," Ranger said, quietly walking up behind me. He placed a hand gently on my shoulder. When he spoke he was close to my ear and speaking softly. "You think with your heart Babe. That's one of the things I love the most about you. You always have the best intentions in mind. You just need to stop and think things through before you jump in unprepared."

I raised my head to look at him.

"It was a stupid idea. I admit that. But I was out of my mind knowing that he had you, not knowing how badly you were hurt. All I could think about was getting to you. Believe me, I was relieved that it wasn't necessary and besides none of this ever would have happened if you hadn't taken off! Where were you going anyway? Where could you have had to go that was worth the risk? What house was Jason talking about at the hospital?" I asked peering over my shoulder.

Ranger's blank face faltered for a moment and then he said "Don't change the subject Stephanie. We were talking about what happened today and believe me there is still plenty we need to discuss like…What part of our relationship are you still trying to cope with?"

I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and stood up to face him.

"Now who's changing the subject?" I retorted.

He didn't say anything. I shook my head sadly.

"You won't tell me where you were going. You're still not letting me into your life, not really. I don't know if you ever will" I said looking away, depressed at that thought. "That will take some time for me to cope with Ranger."

"Steph, I told you that I didn't know what kind of future I could offer you. You said whatever I could give you would be enough. Apparently that isn't really the case."

This time it was Ranger's turn to flop down onto a stool. He bent forward and ran a hand through his hair.

I sighed again and took a seat across from him. "I really don't know if I'll ever want to get married again. My first married was a total disaster, the divorce was worse. And the thought of having kids is about as appealing as a root-canal that lasts eighteen years at this point in my life. It's just…I know that by being with you, those things will never be an option and I…I don't really know how to explain it. I think it will just take some time to reconcile that with the Burg girl in me who dreamed about getting married and having kids from the time she was twelve. Even after my divorce I thought I'd meet Mr. Right and we'd have the American Dream. And now…I finally have my Mr. Right, but his love doesn't come with a ring and he won't do anything stupid like marriage and pregnancy. I need to adjust to that" I finished quietly.

Ranger sat across from me silently, eyes averted, his expression serious. I reached across the counter and covered his hand with mine. I waited for him to look up at me.

"I really do just want to be with you Ranger, with or without the ring or the kids. And I know that my mother will understand it in time."

Again he just looked at me, his face unreadable.

Ranger's cell phone vibrated on his belt. He unclipped it and looked at the display. "It's Morelli. I can't wait to hear what he has to say" Ranger said before answering it on speaker phone.

"Yo" he said.

"Morelli." (Sigh) "Listen, I don't know if you've talked to Stephanie yet but you guys need to grow the fuck up and start talking to each other.

I've put a car on her parents and one at Valerie's house. I'm on my way to talk to the Plums now. I'm not happy about it but it has to be done. Steph can explain to you why.

All I know is that you guys need to stop the bullshit or you'll be no better off than Steph and I were.

And keep an eye on her. She's liable to do something stupid with Scrog. Don't let her get hurt or there'll be hell to pay.

Christ, I'm not a fucking marriage counselor" he muttered as he disconnected.

Ranger looked at me "Do you want to tell me about Scrog now?" he asked.

"No, I'd rather settle us first. You haven't really said much, not that that is too surprising" I said.

"Stephanie, I told you that I don't have experience with relationships and I've never been one to talk about myself. I've spent so much time trying to keep myself distanced from everyone that it's hard now to let you in. It's not that I'm trying to shut you out. The secrecy is just the way I'm used to being, it's my automatic response."

He paused and looked down at our hands on the counter. He maneuvered his so he was grasping my hand in his. When he looked back at me his expression was resolute.

"I was going to the Batcave Babe. That's where I was heading when Scrog hit me. I have a house a few miles from there. I don't go there very often, only once or twice a month. It used to be the place I went to relax, to re-center myself. Lately though, I don't feel content unless I'm with you."

Ranger blew out a sigh. Shit, Ranger never sighs.

"When I left here I was doubting myself and that doesn't happen very often. I was questioning whether I could give you the life you deserve to have. And all of a sudden I thought maybe I made a mistake. When we talked in the bathroom, you looked so disgusted at me. I felt like I'd let you down. I couldn't deal with it.

I knew I'd be safe once I got to the house. I just never thought that I wouldn't make it there. I'm sorry, I told you that already."

Ranger made a frustrated growling sound and stood up from the breakfast bar, bracing his hands on the edge of the counter, leaning toward me, his eyes serious.

"I want to have a future with you Stephanie. But like I said before, my lifestyle doesn't lend itself to relationships…"

"Oh God" I whispered. I spun away from the counter, away from Ranger and I slid off of my stool. The heard the blood rushing through my body. I knew Ranger was speaking but I couldn't hear the words. They were drowned out by the ringing in my ears. He was _dumping me_, I thought as the blackness started to close in.

I was slipping to the ground. Then strong hands encircled my arms and I was guided to the ground, back against the cupboards. I felt Ranger grasp the back of my neck and push my head down between my knees.

"Press against my hand Babe." Ranger had one hand at the nape of my neck and the other was rubbing my back soothingly. "Deep breaths. You'll be alright baby."

Eventually the noise in my head subsided and the room stopped spinning. I sat there trying to get myself together.

Once I was able to pull myself back to reality I stiffened at Ranger's loving touch on my back. Why is he being so nice to me? He doesn't want to be with me anymore. I guess we're back to the way things were before when Ranger loved me from afar, figuratively speaking of course, Ranger never left much physical space between us.

"I'm ok now Ranger thanks" I said sliding away from him and getting to my feet.

I poured myself a glass of water and took a sip. Shit this is awkward.

"I don't think I can stay here with you anymore. I'd like to go back to my apartment. What do I have to do to leave?" I asked and then turned and walked out of the kitchen to pack my things.

Ranger caught up with me a few steps into the living room. He grabbed me by the elbow and spun me around to face him. He wore a look of surprise, of confusion.

"I don't understand" he said, his dark eyes boring into mine.

"I am not going to stay here with you and pretend that I'm ok with this. Call Cal and Hal and tell them I'll be ready to leave in five." I said trying to maintain my composure.

"Stephanie, you have to…" Ranger started.

"Oh no! It's your prerogative if you don't want to be with me anymore, but don't you _DARE_ tell me that I need to patch things up with Morelli" I said loudly, poking him in his chiseled chest with a stiff finger.

Ranger grasped my hand with one of his and pressed it flat against his chest.

"Stephanie, Babe, I don't think that you heard what I said."

"Oh I heard what you said alright. I heard you say your lifestyle doesn't lend itself to relationships, that's why we can't have a future together. Then I heard you start to send me back to Morelli again. Well guess what Ranger, I don't _WANT_ to be with Morelli! I want to be with _YOU_ and if I can't be with you then I will be just fine on my own thank you!" I huffed trying to yank my hand away from him. I was almost blind with hurt and down-right fury!

When Ranger wouldn't let my hand go I looked up into his face and noticed a tiny smile playing on his lips.

"Babe, I'm really glad to hear that you don't want to be with Morelli, but I think that there's been a misunderstanding. Will you sit down so we can finish talking?" Ranger asked.

I was trying to calm down, why the hell is he smiling? I nodded at him and let him lead me to the couch.

We sat down side by side. Ranger angled himself to face me more.

"I did say that my lifestyle doesn't lend itself to relationships. What I don't think you heard was what I said after that. I said that yours doesn't either and because of that we will both need to work extra hard to make this work. There will always be something going on that will try to occupy our attention and time but I think that if we can keep from shutting each other out and try to communicate, we can do it. As much as it kills me to say this, Morelli was right. We can have it if we really try. And I know that if there was ever a woman born tenacious enough to deal with me, it's you Steph." Ranger said with a sweet smile.

"Well…ditto, except switch the genders" I said with a wobbly grin.

"Babe, I know that I've said some narrow-minded things in the past about marriage and children but…the truth is, like you, I'm not sure how I feel. My life has changed so much recently. I guess what I'm trying to say is never say never. Don't give up on me Steph. I just want to be with you. We can take it from there when the time is right."

I think coming from Ranger that was the best I could ever hope for.

He reached out and pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I held onto him just as hard. I laid my head on his should my lips close to his neck.

"I'm sorry that I called Morelli earlier. I just thought it was the most logical option. You were supposed to be in a meeting until 10:00 and I didn't want to interrupt and I thought that since Morelli has a stake in the hunt for Scrog he could get the PD to send out a car to watch my family until I got a chance to talk to you about it. I wasn't trying to shut you out" I said grazing his neck with my lips.

"I'm sorry Steph. I jumped to conclusions. I was…jealous. I just didn't like that you had turned to Morelli for help, not me. Now I know how he must have felt in the past" Ranger said shaking his head a tiny bit. "You can ALWAYS interrupt me Steph, no matter what. You are my number one priority, ok?" He said looking at me.

"Ok" I said looking at him.

Ranger lowered his head very slowly and claimed my mouth in a tender kiss.

"Do you want to hear the messages from Scrog now?" I asked when he pulled back.

"In a minute Babe" he said before pressing his lips to mine again. This kiss was far more intense and demanding than the first.

"Unh" I said as he pulled back with a full-on smile.

"Right back at ya Babe" he said before grabbing my hand and pulling me off the couch. "Let's get to work. When this is all over with I'm locking us in the house and we're not coming out for at least a week. I have plans for you" Ranger finished with a smile.

_A/N - Thank you so much for reading! I want to send a special thanks out to Uncherished Light for the extra message of encouragement, thanks! This chapter just about killed me. I really struggled with getting things settled but still trying to keep R & S in character as much as possible. How did I do? Thanks for all the great reviews! _


	15. Chapter 15

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

"_Do you want to hear the messages from Scrog now?" I asked when he pulled back._

"_In a minute Babe" he said before pressing his lips to mine again. This kiss was far more intense and demanding than the first._

"_Unh" I said as he pulled back with a full-on smile._

"_Right back at ya Babe" he said before grabbing my hand and pulling me off the couch. "Let's get to work. When this is all over with I'm locking us in the house and we're not coming out for at least a week. I have plans for you" Ranger finished with a smile._

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

An hour later Ranger and I were downstairs in the conference room surrounded by half a dozen Merry Men and Joe Morelli.

We had listened to each of the messages from Scrog at least three times and had typed transcripts in hand.

After listening to the recordings and a little bit of discussion, the general consensus was that Edward Scrog is a crazy, sick bastard and the sooner we bring him down, the sooner we can all get on with our lives. Now all we needed was a plan.

"Ok, don't anybody freak out but…I still think our best option is to use me as bait" I finished in a rush.

The room went awash with a chorus of "no way" and "forget it."

Surprisingly, Ranger was the only one who didn't voice an objection.

"Let's think through this Babe" he said looking at me. "What kind of a scenario do you see happening?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure that Scrog will call to try to get me to come to him, sooner rather than later. He will probably threaten my family and hold their safety over my head because he knows I would do anything to protect them."

I blew out a sigh. "When Scrog captured me before, I noticed that he doesn't know how to deal with female emotional stuff very well. I was trying to get him flustered, acting like a demanding, super needy, emotional…well, girl. Scrog told me that getting caught didn't look like such a bad option at that point, as long as he didn't have to listen to me whine anymore."

The men exchanged glances. I'm not sure if that meant they didn't think my observation had credence or if it meant they hated to listen to me whine too and could identify with Scrog preferring jail.

"I think that if I was alone with him for a while, with some whining and nagging and some properly placed tears, I could get him to do just about anything" I finished. My skin crawled at the prospect of being alone with Scrog.

"None of that really matters if we can't find him" Tank said.

I blew out a sigh. Tank was right. Either I would have to go with Scrog willingly and the guys would need to be able to tail me unlike the last time, or we would have to track Scrog down and catch him off-guard.

I was looking down at the transcripts from Scrog's recent messages when something jumped out at me. I sat up and looked at Ranger. The look on my face made him smile his almost smile.

"The last message, Scrog didn't call from a blocked number. Look" I said spreading out the papers in front of me. All of his other calls have been labeled _Unknown_ or _Blocked_. This call came from a 978 number."

"That's a Massachusetts area code, north of Boston" Ranger said.

"I'm on it Boss" Tank said walking out of the room with his copy of the transcripts.

Morelli unclipped his pager from his belt and glanced at the display.

"I just got a page from the station. I have to make a call" Morelli said and excused himself into the hall.

"Let's take five" Ranger said.

Hal, Cal, Lester and Bobby were talking quietly amongst themselves.

Ranger turned to me with a crooked smile on his lips. "Good eye Steph" he said running a finger gently across the back of my hand.

"It may be nothing. It's probably a stolen phone or one of those throw-away cell phones. He could have had it programmed with a Massachusetts number just to throw us off" I said.

"Maybe, but maybe not Steph." Ranger picked up the transcripts. "You can tell from the messages that his anger is escalating. It looks like he's decompensating. The phone slip-up could be a sign that he's starting to lose it" Ranger said.

Tank walked back into the conference room and took his seat. The guys all snapped back to attention.

"What did you find out?" I asked Tank then shot Ranger an apologetic look. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take over."

"By all means Steph, go ahead" Ranger said with a little tilt of his chin telling me to continue.

"Did you find out who the phone belongs to?" I asked Tank.

"The number traces back to a Paula de Escobar from Lowell Massachusetts. The cell phone hasn't been reported stolen. Woody is running a check on her now" Tank said.

"Ok, thanks" I said not knowing what else to say.

Morelli walked back into the room and sat beside Lester. He looked at us waiting for someone to say something.

I blew out a sigh, guess I'm still in charge. "Was that about Scrog?" I asked him.

Morelli nodded.

"Carl and Big Dog picked up a guy last night at Stevie Teezz Gentlemen's Club. They brought him in for assault with a deadly weapon. The guy broke the bottom off of a beer bottle and pressed the edge against the throat of another patron who was getting a little too friendly with his favorite stripper. The bouncers pulled him off before he caused any damage. This was the guy's third felony arrest in the last few years. This morning he asked to talk to a detective. He told the detective that he has some information on the guy who snuffed the prison guard at Trenton State. The guy's willing to turn state's evidence on him in exchange for a plea deal" Morelli said.

Hmmm, interesting I thought. "Ok, and?"

"Jesus Steph, patience!" Morelli said with a shake of his head, but he continued.

"So, come to find out this guy was Scrog's cellmate at Trenton State for a while. He says Scrog used to brag about how he had escape plans and how he had hideouts with guns and munitions stockpiles. Scrog talked about how once he got out he planned to take care of his unfinished business and move into the life that he was really meant to have. Scrog said that he had" Joe looked down at his notebook, "friends on the inside and eyes everywhere."

"Do you think he's talking about people or cameras? We know he had a camera at Steph's place at one point. There could be more around." Lester said.

The mention of the camera in my apartment made my stomach roll.

"Who knows, it could be both. This guy's good and he doesn't seem to have trouble making friends" Ranger said.

Woody knocked once at the door and let himself into the conference room. "I've got the preliminary information on Paula, Boss."

Ranger took the printout from Woody and read aloud as he skimmed the information.

"Age 29, born August 3rd 1977 in Boston

Last known address 248 Shrewsbury Street, Apartment B, Lowell, Mass

Never been married, no kids

Parents Dominic and Maria are deceased

Two criminal convictions, Petty Larceny in 2002 and Check Forgery in 2005

She served six months at a women's prison camp in Mass, got out in March

Occupation listed as Unemployed Factory Worker

One sibling, a brother, 24 years old, Javier de Escobar" Ranger finished placing the paper on the table.

Morelli startled at the mention of the brother's name.

"That's the guy, the one who says he has information on Scrog" Joe said surprise evident on his face and in his voice. "Javier Tomas de Escobar."

We all just sat there digesting the possible meaning. Finally we have a lead, I thought.

"I'm gonna head to the station and see if I can talk to him" Joe said standing up.

"I want to go too" I said without even thinking.

Joe stopped half way to the door and turned around to face me. He looked at Ranger and then back at me.

"Steph, I don't know if that's a very good idea. You'll be safer if you just stay here. Besides. I don't think the Chief would like the idea of me bringing you in to talk to a prisoner" he said.

"I'll take care of it" Ranger chimed in. "Steph and I will both ride and by the time we get there, you'll have the OK for Steph to talk to him."

I shot Ranger a look of appreciation. _He always supports me_ I thought to myself. I had to stop myself from telling Morelli that _that_ was why things never would have worked out with us.

Morelli looked skeptical. "I still don't think it's a good idea Stephanie. Interrogations can get pretty ugly and if he's been talking to Edward Scrog, that fucking psycho, there's no telling what this guy might have to say" he said.

"I appreciate your concern Joe, but I can handle it, really. I think that I want Edward Scrog taken out more than anyone else at this point" I said.

"Well, I'm not sure that you hold that title Babe, we all want Scrog out of the picture, but I know you can handle it" Ranger said slipping an arm around my shoulders. He looked up at Morelli.

Morelli's gaze was fixated on Ranger's arm around me, his hand squeezing and kneading my tense shoulder. A dark look crossed Morelli's face and then his cop face fell into place. He looked up at me and blew out a sigh.

"Are you sure Steph?"

"Yes" I said with a firm nod.

"OK then. What's the plan Manoso?" he asked turning to Ranger.

"Steph?" Ranger asked looking sideways at me.

I was caught off-guard as Ranger deferred to me yet again.

"Um…we'll follow you to the station and wait in the secret room behind the glass and listen. We'll give you a chance to talk to him and come in if we think of something to say. Does that sound ok?" I asked them both.

"OK" Morelli said and headed down the hall toward the elevator.

"We'll meet you down in the garage in a minute. I need to make a quick stop in my office" Ranger said leading me down the hall in that direction.

He ushered me inside and closed the door. He backed me up until I was pressed against the door, his hard body leaning into me. He sealed his lips to mine in a hot but leisurely kiss. I felt my body temperature start to skyrocket.

Ranger pulled back and looked at me with a sweet smile.

"Umm, thanks" I said wiping the drool that was forming at the corner of my lips in my Ranger induced stupor. "What was that for?"

"No reason" he said rubbing his lips gently across mine. "I just haven't kissed you in at least two hours. I was having withdrawal" he said.

"Mmmm, I know the feeling" I replied and leaned in to kiss him some more.

A pounding on the door right behind my head made us both jump.

"We're ready to roll when you are Boss" boomed Tank's deep voice.

"In a minute" Ranger called out hugging me to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and enjoyed the feel of him against me, his muscular arms around me giving me strength.

I made a happy noise and nuzzled him just behind his ear.

"Are you ready Babe?"

"Yeah, I'm ready" I said with a smile.

With a hard peck on the lips Ranger stepped back and opened the door. He held my hand as we walked toward the elevator.

"Ranger?" I asked in the elevator.

"Yeah Steph?"

"Can we hit a drive-thru on the way to the station? It's past lunch time and I haven't eaten since breakfast" I said, my stomach concurring with a loud growl.

Ranger chuckled. "Yeah Babe, we can stop. Anywhere you want." He kissed my hand that was clutched in his as the elevator doors opened.

We met the others downstairs in the garage and did the bodyguard brigade drill.

Morelli drove in front of us in his SUV. Lester and Bobby were next in line. Tank was driving Ranger and me in the middle and Hal and Cal were bringing up the rear.

We made a pit stop at the McDonalds on Olden Avenue. Hal and Cal were given the job of ordering for the whole group of us while Morelli, Tank, Lester and Bobby pulled guard duty. Everyone had something nice and fattening for lunch, except for Ranger. Ranger had a grilled chicken salad with no dressing. Bleck, the man needs to learn a thing or two about eating. We ate while we drove the rest of the way to the station.

Ranger made his call to the Chief and, as promised, we were allowed into the observation room attached to interrogation room C. We took our place standing behind the two-way mirror and waited for Javier de Escobar to be led in from his holding cell.

_A/N - And all of a sudden the muse has awoken! I don't know how it happened, maybe a freak side effect of the codeine cough med I've been on, but the flow has returned. Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys rock! _


	16. Chapter 16

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_We made a pit stop at the McDonalds on Olden Avenue. Hal and Cal were given the job of ordering for the whole group of us while Morelli, Tank, Lester and Bobby pulled guard duty. Everyone had something nice and fattening for lunch, except for Ranger. Ranger had a grilled chicken salad with no dressing. Bleck, the man needs to learn a thing or two about eating. We ate while we drove the rest of the way to the station._

_Ranger made his call to the Chief and, as promised, we were allowed into the observation room attached to interrogation room C. We took our place standing behind the two-way mirror and waited for Javier de Escobar to be led in from his holding cell._

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

A couple minutes later we watched as Morelli led de Escobar in. He was medium height, lean, and wiry but his muscles were well defined. His dark hair was cropped in a low buzz cut. His jeans were falling off of his ass and his sleeveless t-shirt was three sizes too big. Javier's arms were covered in dark tattoos and he had some sort of a symbol tattooed on the right side of his neck, probably a gang sign I thought. He was brought in wearing cuffs and leg shackles. I guess Morelli didn't want to take any chances with me around.

After seating Javier in a chair, Morelli placed a small handheld tape recorder on the table and pressed record.

"State your name and date of birth" Morelli said.

"Javier Tomas de Escobar. Birthday's February 23rd 1982" he said with a slight Hispanic accent.

"I was told by Detective Smith that you have some information regarding the murder of Trenton State Corrections Officer Daniel Stern and the prison escape of another inmate" Morelli said as if on auto-pilot.

"Yeah, I got some but I ain't sayin' unless I know it's gonna help me out, ya know?"

"I understand that Mr. de Escobar. The District Attorney has left that up to my discretion. If I feel that you are being genuinely helpful and not just dicking me around, I'll call the D.A. and she will work out a plea deal with you. Is that a problem for you?" Morelli asked.

"Nah, that's cool" said Javier with a little smile, revealing a gold front tooth.

It wasn't very often that I got to watch Morelli work. I had seen him once or twice at a crime scene but the only person I had ever seen him interrogate was me. I was fascinated by this side of him. It was as if he flipped a switch and turned from Joe Morelli, my friend and former lover, to Detective Morelli, Supercop, all business. Morelli is a good cop but he is also a real good man. I don't think I ever appreciated that before.

I focused my attention back through the glass as Morelli spoke again.

"What do you have to tell me?" Morelli asked.

"I was doin' a year at State on a possession charge. About a month or so before I was gettin' out I got a new cellmate by the name Edward Scrog. He's 'bout six foot tall, dark hair and dark Latino skin, I think he Puerto Rican. He come in there thinkin' he all badass 'cause he shot that guy Ranger and everybody know ain't no touchin' that guy.

So anyway, this guy like to talk. He always braggin' 'bout this and that. He tells me how he got guns and shit stashed all over the damn place. He got hideouts too. He say soon as he get out he gonna go after Ranger and get even wit' him for fuckin' his bitch and he got the stuff to get the job done."

Both Ranger and Morelli tensed up at the mention of me. I didn't like the sound of Scrog getting even with Ranger and I certainly didn't like him calling me his _bitch_.

"What else did he tell you?" Morelli prodded Javier to continue.

"Scrog say he got help on the inside, guys in uniform who gonna help him escape. I thought that a big load of shit when he said it. But then one night I wake up at like 2 A.M. 'cause I heard something. Scrog was talking to someone so I pretend I still asleep and listen. He was whispering to _that_ guard, the dead one. Guard said "Tomorrow at 10:45. My shift ends at 11:00. You know the plan _lover_." Scrog say "Oh yeah I know the plan" and he laughed after that.

I was almost asleep again when Scrog say he knew I not asleep, he can tell by my breathing, so I should stop faking it. He asked me what I overhear. I tell him not a fuckin' thing. He laughed and said that good and I should be comin' down sick tomorrow so I ain't in the cell after bed checks. So that what I did. Next night after dinner I say my stomach is hurtin' real bad. I turned it on real strong, moaning and grabbing my gut. I spent the night in the hospital ward. I didn't know if anything happened or not until I heard the lockdown sirens start ringing around 4:00 in the morning" Javier finished.

"And you didn't feel the need to tell anyone about what Scrog was planning?" Morelli asked, clearly annoyed.

"Hell no! I was a week from gettin' the hell out of there. I wanted nothing to do with that shit. Besides, I didn't think it'd actually work. They was planning on sneaking him out with the trash. Figured it was a sure way to get caught" he said shifting in his seat. "Man these cuffs are startin' to dig in, we almost done here?" he asked.

"Yeah we're almost done" Morelli said.

Morelli looked up at the two-way glass. I guess that was our OK to enter. I didn't know about Ranger but I had a question or two for him.

"I'm going in" I said to Ranger before walking out the door and into the interrogation room.

Morelli and de Escobar both looked up when I walked into the room.

I saw de Escobar go pale when Ranger walked in right behind me.

"Hello Javier" I said. "Do you know who I am?"

He glanced at Ranger and then back to me. "Well I know who he is" he said cocking his head at Ranger, "so I guess that make you the bitch Scrog be all hot to fuck, though you don't look like shit to me" he said.

Before I knew what I was doing blood was running out of Javier's nose and I realized that I had sucker punched him in the face. Damn, I really need to stop doing that.

"Oops" I said shaking my hand out. Ranger was laughing out loud. Morelli was wearing a look of horror on his face.

"Steph" he barked.

I pointed my finger at Javier's face and said "do not speak to me like that again, got it?"

Javier nodded his head. He looked so pathetic with blood running down his face and tears in his eyes. He couldn't do anything about the blood because his hands were cuffed.

"Christ" I said looking around the room, spying a tissue box on the small telephone table in the corner.

I pulled out a huge wad and used them to grab the bridge of Javier's nose and give it a squeeze.

"Tip your head back a little bit. You'll be fine in a minute or two. It's probably not even broken" I said feeling guilty, even though he did deserve it.

He had dropped the macho act and now looked harmless, younger even than his 24 years. I continued to hold his nose as the bleeding slowed.

"I think you know more than you're saying. Where are these hideouts? He must have mentioned something more specific."

"I really don't know, I swear" he said, except with his nose plugged it was muffled and nasally. "All I know is he said he got a hideout in the woods, no wait, a house. He say he got a fancy ass house in the woods. And he said something about a storage unit to that guard but I didn't hear what. That's all I know, really" Javier said.

"I have a question for you" Ranger said, speaking for the first time. "When was the last time you spoke to your sister Paula?"

Javier froze at the mention of her name, his skin drained of color.

"I, I" he swallowed hard, "I talked to her yesterday 'round noon. She on her way down here from Mass. I was s'posed to meet her at my place last night only I got stuck in here. Why you askin'? I tried to call her this morning but she ain't pickin' up."

"Edward Scrog used your sister's cell phone to call and threaten me this morning" I told him. I let go of his nose and dropped the tissues into his lap.

"Shit! What did that fucking psycho do?" Javier asked but I was pretty sure it was a rhetorical question.

"Edward Scrog is a very sick man. I don't know how your sister is involved with him but if you can think of anything else you better start talking. Her life could be in danger" Morelli said.

"He musta' known I'd rat him out. I bet he come lookin' for me but he found Paula instead 'cause I was stuck in this shit hole" he said.

"I'll send a squad car over to your place to check on her" Morelli said picking up the house phone. "What's your address?"

"I got an apartment down on Stark. 1497, unit D" Javier said dropping his head forward in anguish.

Morelli relayed the address into the phone and I heard Ranger call and send Woody and Ram to the address as well.

I sat down in Morelli's seat across from Javier at the table.

"You weren't really trying to hurt that guy last night were you? You were protecting the girl" I said.

Javier looked at me sadly and slowly shook his head. "That girl is my baby's mama. I try to tell her she shouldn't be strippin' but I can't make the kinda money she make there. That dude wouldn't leave her alone and the bouncers are useless."

I had a feeling that Javier de Escobar was not the kind of badass he wanted everyone to believe

"And my sister, damnit. Paula just got her shit together. She had some problems before but now she straight as an arrow. She's movin' down here to go to college, get herself a education, wants to be a nurse. She gotta be a'ight. This all my fault" Javier said, pain evident in his voice.

"We'll try to find her Javier. There are a lot of people out there looking for Scrog. He'll get taken down one way or another" I said. "The best thing you can do is give us any information you have, not only to help me, but to help Paula. What does Paula look like?"

"She 'bout 5 foot 7, wavy brown hair and blue…" he paused "actually she look a lot like you, only her skin a shade or two darker" he said.

I got a knot in my stomach and my blood ran cold. Maybe Scrog decided he needed some more practice until he got the real thing, me. I met Ranger's gaze and knew we were thinking the same thing.

"What about a car?" Morelli asked taking another seat at the table.

"Paula got herself an old Civic. It's a '95 I think, 2 doors and a hatchback. Got Mass plates only I dunno the tag ID. It's a funky shade of purple though, I ain't never seen another car that color" he said.

Morelli wrote down the information. "Is there anything else you can think of that might help us find him? Was there anyone else he talked to or anything he said that might have seemed odd?"

"Everything about the dude was odd, he a freak. I saw him talkin' to this nurse lady once or twice. She a plain looking thing, brown hair, brown eyes, I think her name's Kerry or Sherry or something like that. It looked like he was layin' on the charm real thick with her." He paused. "I just thoughta somethin' else freakier than usual Scrog said. Dude said anyone ever found his place in the woods, he'd go out with a bang, nah a _BIG_ bang" Javier said, eyes wide.

"You've been cooperative Mr. de Escobar. I'll call the D.A. and tell her to come in and speak to you about your plea deal" Morelli said turning off the recorder and standing up, walking toward the door.

"Javier" I said. He looked up at me.

"Thank you. This guy has been trying real hard to ruin my life and hurt the people that I love. I will make sure that he's taken out" I said with conviction in my voice.

"You mean taken down" Javier said.

"No, I mean taken _out_" I said softly.

We locked eyes for a moment. He nodded.

"You do that lady. Find my sister and give the motherfucker what he got comin' ta him." He sighed and looked down ashamedly. "I'm sorry I was rude. My mama's probably rollin' over in her grave for what I said to you" he said, once again looking at me.

"Well then, I'm sorry that I sucker punched you in the face. My mother would threaten me with no dessert for the rest of my life if she knew I punched a man in handcuffs" I said with a smile.

"We cool lady, we cool" he said as a uniformed officer entered the room and led him down the hall to his holding cell.

Ranger crooked an arm around my neck and kissed me at my temple.

"I don't know how you do it Babe" Ranger said giving his head a tiny shake. "You just managed to wrap a gang banging felon around your little finger, even _after_ you punched him in the face. You're one of a kind Babe" he said with a smile.

I smiled back at him and leaned up to give him a quick smooch on the mouth.

"He wasn't trying to assault that guy last night Ranger. He was just protecting the girl. She's the mother of his baby" I said.

"I know Steph, I'll tell the D.A." Morelli said from behind me. His voice startled me. I hadn't realized he was back in the room since I was turned away from the door.

"Thanks" I said, "he's a good kid on the inside, I can feel it."

I turned back to Ranger who still had his arm around me. "Are we heading home?" Funny how quickly an apartment at Rangeman had come to feel like home. I guess that home for me was wherever Ranger is, and Rex too of course.

"Yeah Babe, we're heading home." He turned to Morelli. "I don't expect they'll find much at his apartment. Can you get a warrant to track the cell signal from Paula's cell phone?" Ranger asked.

"Already in the works. I should have it by 5:00" Morelli said.

"Call us when it's in. We're going home" Ranger said as we turned and walked out of the room.

I glanced over my shoulder at Morelli who was watching us intently a look on his face I couldn't quite name. Regret? Maybe. Jealousy? Maybe. It hurt me in the pit of my stomach to see it whatever it was.

I stopped walking and turned to face him. Ranger positioned himself so his arm stayed around my shoulders.

"Hey Joe? Thanks for, well, for everything. You're a good man and a good friend" I said with a smile.

Ranger nodded his head in agreement.

With that we headed back to Rangeman to wait for word from Morelli and to process the information we learned from Javier.

_A/N – This illness I have is really taking its toll on me, ugh!! Here is chapter 16 though, I hope you enjoyed it. My daughter and I got my son and husband off to work/school and fell asleep on the couch at 9 AM and didn't wake up until after 2PM! She is sick too, poor babyL. Thanks for reading and reviewingJ._


	17. Chapter 17

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

"_Hey Joe? Thanks for, well, for everything. You're a good man and a good friend" I said with a smile._

_Ranger nodded his head in agreement._

_With that we headed back to Rangeman to wait for word from Morelli and to process the information we learned from Javier._

_**Chapter Seventeen**_

The drive back to Rangeman was uneventful, so uneventful in fact that I fell asleep less than five minutes into what should have only been a twenty minute ride with regular traffic.

I woke to the feeling that I was being watched. I opened my eyes and once my vision cleared I found five pairs of eyes peering at me through the open window of the Navigator. Cal, Hal, Lester, Bobby and Tank stood just outside the door in a semicircle. Tank had a Cheshire cat grin on his face and Lester was wearing a full-on smile. The others looked amused but their expressions were a bit less obvious. I was busy trying to figure out why everyone was staring at me when I felt Ranger jump beside me. Hunh, guess he was asleep too.

Ranger had an arm around my shoulders, one hand curled around my breast as I leaned into his side. Just at that moment I realized that my right hand had a firm grip on Ranger's _cough_ crotch area. I yanked my hand back like I had been bitten and blushed in embarrassment.

"What the hell's going on here?" Ranger snapped at Tank.

"Geez guys, don't you get any sleep at night?" Tank asked with a chuckle. "Not even ten minutes into the ride and you were both snoozing like a baby," I looked at Ranger, startled that he let his guard down enough to fall asleep in a car.

I looked back at the Merry Men with a scowl. "You should have woken us up the second we got back to Rangeman" I said trying to use anger to disguise my embarrassment. The Merry Men had caught me with my hand on Ranger's package. I'll never hear the end of this!

"How long were you standing there watching us sleep you perverts?" I hissed.

"Oh come on Steph, it was only like two minutes. You guys just looked so darn cute, we didn't want to disturb you" Lester said with a toothy grin.

"You were both making little happy noises and fondling each other. It was like watching a train wreck. We couldn't look away no matter how hard we tried" said Tank.

"Well next time I would appreciate it if you would kindly just wake me up" I said sliding out of Ranger's grasp and out the door of the SUV.

The second my feet touched the pavement the Merry Men surrounded me. I did a huge mental eye roll, ok maybe it wasn't just mental.

"Personal space guys, everyone take a step back" I tried to reason.

"No can do Babe" came Ranger's hushed reply from close behind me. He was standing very close to me. I could feel the heat of his body soaking into my back and damn it if it wasn't turning me on. Of course it didn't help that the rather large bulge in Ranger's cargos was pressing firmly against my ass.

"Don't move Babe, if the guys see me like this, I'll never live it down" Ranger said in my ear.

We walked to the elevator with Ranger very close behind me. By the time we deposited the guys on the 5th floor and took the ride up to the 7th floor, Ranger was back to normal. What a pity I thought sadly.

Ranger's cell range as we were hanging our coats in the hall closet.

"Yo…ok, that's about what I expected…no, take off, on-call though" Ranger said and flipped his phone shut.

I looked at him expectantly.

"That was Woody. Javier's apartment didn't have much to offer. Paula definitely got there at some point, there are two suitcases and a duffle bag with what appears to be her stuff in it inside the apartment. The PD is talking to the neighbors trying to find out if anyone saw her leave but you know how it goes on Stark Street. Nobody sees nothin' on Stark Street. There were no signs of a struggle or forced entry but the front door was slightly ajar when the cops arrived" he finished.

Ranger took my hand and walked us into the kitchen. I slid onto a stool at the breakfast bar as Ranger went to the fridge and pulled out a bottled water.

"You want anything Babe?"

"I'll take a diet coke please. I could use the caffeine, I'm beat" I said folding my arms on the counter and laying my head atop of them.

Ranger pulled a can of soda from the fridge and poured it into a glass, placing it on the counter next to my head. He placed his hands on my shoulders and started kneading my tense muscles.

"It's 4:00 now. I should check in downstairs" Ranger said. "Would you rather take a nap or come down with me?"

I thought about it for maybe five seconds.

"If you don't mind I could kind of use a power nap. The last few days have been rough" I said lifting my head to look at him. I took a sip of the diet coke as I calculated.

"Has it really only been four days since this all started? It feels like a lifetime ago" I said with a shake of my head.

Ranger spun my stool around to face him and wrapped me in his arms. I hugged him around the waist and rested my head against his strong chest.

I heaved a sigh and relaxed into him. Somehow Ranger could always manage to make me forget all the shit in my life. He was warm and strong and stroking my back soothingly. When I realized that I was starting to drool I lifted my head and smiled lazily at him.

Ranger used his thumb to wipe the drool from the corner of my mouth then cradled my face in his hands.

He smiled a dazzling smile then leaned in and gave me a warm, soft kiss on the mouth. He took me by the hand and led me into the bedroom. I sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled off my boots.

Ranger came out of the dressing room carrying a folded blanket. I lay back onto the mountain of pillows and curled up on my side with a sigh. Ranger covered me with the blanket, tucking it under my body and up around my shoulders. The blanket was dark chocolate brown and fuzzy, almost furry.

"Mmmm, I like this blanket" I said snuggling in. "It's like being wrapped up in a giant teddy bear."

"Julie gave it to me last Christmas. She picked it out herself despite Rachel telling her she didn't need to buy me a gift. Julie paid for it with her own money and shipped it to me just in time for Christmas. She told Rachel that the blanket reminded her of the color of my eyes" Ranger said with a sad, almost wistful smile.

This was another one of those times that I couldn't help but wonder at what expense Ranger lived the life that he lives.

I reached up and brushed his cheek lovingly and gave him a smile.

"How is Julie?" I asked knowing that he was in touch with her on a regular basis since her kidnapping. I don't think that Ranger will ever forgive himself for what Julie went through, not matter how many times we tell him that it wasn't his fault.

"I talked to her by email this morning. She's having a great time. She loves having body guards. She said she likes to do things to try to get them to talk, says it's like getting the guards at Buckingham Palace to speak" he said with a chuckle.

"Nate and Gregor are having a blast just waiting to see what she'll say or do next. She's doing good Steph. Nothing seems to faze her" he said with a disbelieving shake of his head.

"She's got grit Ranger. She's so brave. When I first met her I couldn't help but think that she has more guts than I do. She's so much like you" I said reaching up and pulling him down on top of me so I could hug him right.

"I really can't take any credit for that Steph. But thank you for saying so" he said right before he kissed me senseless.

Ranger pulled back propping himself up on his elbows. He brushed my hair away from my face gently with a soft smile on his lips. With one last kiss Ranger sat up and tucked the blanket back around me.

"Go ahead and rest Babe, you'll need it for what I have planned for tonight" he said with a wink. "I'll come and get you when I hear from Morelli" Ranger said with a big smile.

"Ok" I said. I think I was asleep the moment Ranger walked out the door.

------------

I woke up with a start, my body covered in a fine sheen of sweat, a sick feeling of unease in the pit of my stomach.

I looked at the alarm clock glowing on the nightstand and saw that it was already 6:30 in the evening. The apartment was quiet. There were no lights on anywhere as far as I could tell. The only light filtered in from the streetlights below shining through the open curtains.

I stood up and walked over to the window glancing out into the dark cloudy sky. A light rain was falling, splattering against the window.

I shifted my gaze down to the street below. There wasn't much light below just the light cast by the scattering of streetlights and the headlights of an occasional passing car.

As I looked at the street below my spidey sense started humming big time. Scrog was out there somewhere, I could feel it. He was watching us.

I was about to turn away from the window to call Ranger when I noticed a shadowy figure separate itself from the side of the building across the street. The figure walked around the corner of the building and flattened itself against the wall in the alcove surrounding the front entry. I watched as the figure pulled something long out from under a dark trench coat. I froze as I saw the red light of a laser sight blink on and then train itself on the window right in front of me.

I dove to the ground and was crawling quickly toward the bedroom door when it was pushed open and a man appeared in the doorway. He was backlit by the living room light but I could only assume that it was Ranger. He didn't know about the sniper, he had to get down.

I jumped to my feet and tackled him to the ground as hard as I could, out of the way of potential fire.

He went down with a loud "oomph" as the air was forced from his lungs. He was flat on his back with me on top of him. I covered him as best I could with my body. I will not let Ranger be hurt again.

I heard the sound of footsteps in the living room, drawing closer.

"Babe" I heard Ranger say from across the room. Wait a minute…across the room?

I lifted my head up and looked across the room at Ranger who was standing in front of the couch. He was looking pointedly at me and he did _not_ look happy. I shook my head in confusion then looked down beneath me, into the stunned face of Joe Morelli.

His eyes were wide, his mouth open in surprise. I was plastered to him from shoulder to shin. He laid stock still beneath me, he might have been in shock by the look on his face.

I jumped up off of Morelli, yelled a "sorry" over my shoulder, and then ran straight to Ranger.

"There was a laser sight pointing at the window. I woke up and I felt confused and freaked out for some reason. I walked over to the window and was looking out at the rain and my spidey sense started tingling. Then I saw someone come around the side of the building across the street and stand in the alcove and then they pulled something out from under their coat, a rifle I think and then there was a red beam shining on the window right in front of me. But I had all the lights off, how could he tell I was standing there with all the lights off?" I was panting, having said all of this without stopping to take a breath.

Ranger had an arm around me as he opened his phone calling it into the Comm. Room. I heard him say "possible sniper, use precautions, level one lockdown."

He snapped the phone shut as I ran into the bedroom scrounging around in the dark for my boots.

"What are you doing Steph?" Ranger asked standing just inside the door, his arms folded across his chest.

I stuffed my foot into my other boot and grabbed my Sig from the nightstand.

"I'm getting ready to head out" I said checking the clip and chambering a round. I looked over at him. "Why aren't you getting ready?" I asked in confused.

"Because I'm not going out and neither are you. We're on lockdown inside the building until the threat is cleared." Ranger uncrossed his arms, letting them fall to his sides like he was ready to grab me if I ran past him or something. "We know that Scrog is gunning for us. It's very possible that he's just trying to draw us out into his line of fire. We have to let the guys handle it this time."

He took my hand and sat down on the bed pulling me down to sit next to him.

"But…" I said stunned. Ranger _never_ stays behind. Sure he's been known to lock me up and then head out, but never before has he stayed behind himself.

"I'm not going out right now either Steph. We know that Scrog has sighted me with his rifle at least once already" Morelli said. He was now on his feet apparently recovered from his fall. He was standing near the window, hidden behind the heavy drapes.

"But…" I said again. Now these guys are really starting to scare me! I did my best impression of a fish as I tried to think of something to say. I sat there for a moment and thought about it, I mean _really_ thought about it. I heaved a loud sigh.

"Normally I'd pitch a fit about being told that I'm confined to the building but I thought it through and I can see that it's the right thing to do" I said looking over at Ranger.

He smiled a little smile my way and gave me a nod of approval. He took my hand in his stroking the back of it with his thumb.

I looked over at Morelli. He had turned to face me now and I could see in the dim room that he was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Did she just agree to stay locked down without any fight whatsoever?" He asked surprise evident in his voice.

I was miffed, why the nerve of him!

"Don't look so shocked Morelli! It's amazing the things that I'm willing to do if you just take the time to explain the situation to me and include me instead of sneaking around behind my back" I spat at him, angling my chin up in defiance.

Morelli looked at me for a moment, an undefined emotion on his face. Then he sighed and turned back to the window.

All of a sudden the front of the building and the adjacent street were flooded in bright light. It was as bright as a sunny August day outside. I slipped to the window and peeked outside just in time to see a small army of about twenty Merry Men and two large Rangeman SUVs tear out of the front door and the ramp of the parking garage.

Ranger was beside me watching it all unfold. The Merry Men were fanning out searching for the threat. From here I cold see that they were dressed in full riot gear and were wearing night vision goggles.

Then just as suddenly as they appeared, all the lights were killed, even the streetlights, plunging outside and inside the bedroom, into total darkness.

Ranger turned on a small penlight he had pulled from his pocket. He pulled another small light from the nightstand, flicked it on and handed it to me.

I continued to watch out the window for any signs of movement but couldn't make out any, these guys were good! Then I saw out of the corner of my eye about three blocks away, a car flick on its lights and gunned it down the street.

One of the Rangeman SUVs went barreling after it, the other staying behind incase it was needed.

Ranger reached down to his belt and turned up the volume on his two-way radio.

Tank's voice came across almost immediately.

"In pursuit of a dark colored Honda, Jersey plates, just turned north onto Main Street." Tires squealed loudly and I was afraid that Tank might have had an accident.

"He's driving too fast. The roads are wet, at this rate he's gonna lose it" Tank said in a calm conversational tone. He didn't even sound like he was excited by what he was doing.

No sooner had Tank gotten the words out of his mouth then we heard loud squeals followed by the sickening sound of scraping, crushing metal.

"Subject has lost control of the vehicle." We heard Tank brake to a stop. "The vehicle slammed into the overpass at the corner of Maple and Main, bounced off the wall and went over the guardrail on the other side of the street. It looks like it might have made it into the river" Tank said.

Morelli was on the phone calling the accident into the station.

Ranger was standing next to me. His arms were down at his sides but he was opening and closing his fists over and over again. It was obvious that being left behind was hard for Ranger. He longed to be in the thick of it. He was thrilled by the chase and loved the capture.

I reached out and took his hand in mine. I leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear.

"Thank you for staying behind with me. I know that it's hard for you and if it weren't for me, you'd be out there leading the charge." I kissed him on the cheek and listened to the hiss of dead air, waiting for word from Tank.

Morelli was at the window looking out at Haywood Street. The streetlights and all the usual outdoor lights were now back on. I looked out and saw that the Merry Men were filing back into the building.

"Rangeman perimeter and surrounding area clear, no sign of threat. Team One inbound" Lester's voice came over the radio.

"Affirmative" Ranger replied into the radio then walked over to the nightstand switching on the lamp, drawing the curtains closed on his way by the window.

The three of us walked out into the living room waiting to hear more from Tank.

Ranger and I settled onto the couch, Morelli in a club chair. We sat for a few long moments in silence. Still nothing.

Then we heard a burst of static over the radio followed by Tank's baritone voice.

"We located the vehicle nose-down in the river. Only the nose of the car was submerged. The windshield is totally gone and it looks like the driver's door is jammed shut. There's no sign here of the driver or any passengers but we found an old beat-up sniper rifle with a laser sight caught between the passenger seat and the dash which crumpled in from the impact. The driver couldn't have taken it if they wanted to. The PD and search and rescue are on the scene trying to locate the driver. He could have been ejected through the windshield into the river. There's no sign anyone came ashore on this side of the river but we'll keep looking.

And Boss, there's one more thing…the car is Paula de Escobar's Civic. Someone stuck a Jersey plate on it. And there's more…the plate comes back to a Sherry Sutherland. She's a nurse at Trenton State Prison and as of this moment, she's unaccounted for."

_A/N – Thank you so much for your patience. I hope that it was worth the wait. I will try to update more frequently. Thanks for reading! Your input is always welcome._


	18. Chapter 18

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

"_And Boss, there's one more thing…the car is Paula de Escobar's Civic. Someone stuck a Jersey plate on it that was reported stolen yesterday. The stolen plate comes back to a Sherry Sutherland. She's a nurse at Trenton State Prison and as of this moment, she's unaccounted for."_

_**Chapter Eighteen**_

"Tank, I'm sending out two teams to assist with the search. Once they're on scene, you and Manny roll back in" Ranger said through the two-way.

"Will do Boss" Tank replied.

Ranger looked over at me. I had started to slide out of my seat at the mention of Paula de Escobar. I had been hoping that Scrog had found her cell phone by coincidence, nothing more. It didn't look like that was the case now.

Morelli was on his cell phone again, probably getting updates from the PD. He snapped the phone shut and looked at Ranger.

"I'm heading to the scene. Are you coming?" he asked.

"No. Steph and I are staying here. We haven't had dinner yet and from what I've heard I don't see any reason to risk it. Call if you find anything significant" Ranger said.

Morelli walked over to me, bent down and placed a kiss on my cheek. "Nice tackle Cupcake, you knocked the wind right out of me" Morelli said turning and walking toward the door.

I sat there a little bit bewildered. I can't remember Morelli ever kissing me on the cheek before and I had all but forgotten about my embarrassing flying tackle until he reminded me.

Ranger walked Morelli out. I heard them exchange words but they were too quiet for me to make out what they were saying.

Ranger walked over and slid onto the couch next to me. He threw an arm around my shoulders pulling me to him, nuzzling the hair behind my ear.

"You know Babe, first I find you sprawled out on top of Morelli and then he gives you a kiss on his way out. If I didn't know better I'd think you guys were trying to make me jealous" Ranger said with a smile in his voice.

I turned to him and wrapped my arms around him. I looked at him seriously then leaned in close to his ear.

"I only jumped him because I thought he was you walking into the bedroom" I said brushing my lips against his ear as I spoke. "I couldn't let you walk into the bedroom, into the line of fire" I said squeezing him tightly.

I turned myself a little more so I could straddle his lap, facing him.

Ranger looked at me with heat in his eyes then grabbed the sides of my face pulling me to him as he crushed his lips to mine. His tongue pushed between my parted lips and curled along my tongue, caressing and stroking. He slid one hand to cup the back of my head and the other slipped around to my back, pressing me hard against him. I could feel so much emotion in that one kiss. Appreciation, respect and love spilled forth freely.

I pulled back from the kiss and leaned my forehead against Ranger's, my eyes closed. My breathing was erratic, not only from the feelings of desire the kiss had awoken in me, but from the emotion that was palpable between us. All this emotion flowing from a man who I once thought wasn't capable of feeling, let alone expressing emotion.

I leaned back to look at Ranger. His eyes were dark and sparkling.

"We have to get this guy. We have to finish this soon. I can't take much more" I said and I meant it. How unfair is it that I finally have Ranger all to myself to do with whatever I please, no guilt involved, and we can't really focus on each other the way we should because stupid Scrog is doing his psycho thing _again_. Ugh.

Ranger had his hands on my hips and he gave them a squeeze but continued to hold me against him. He just looked at me for a full minute before speaking.

"I know Steph. I think that starting tomorrow we need to be more proactive. If he really just wanted to kill us, let's face it, he could have done it by now. He had me cuffed and unconscious for several hours." I couldn't help the shiver that ran through my body at the reminder, the image of it still fresh in my mind. "He had a laser sight pointed right at you tonight and yet he didn't fire a single shot. He still seems to be playing some kind of demented game. I'm actually surprised we haven't heard from him since he called and left the message this morning" Ranger finished leaning his head back against the cushion and looking at me.

"Oh, I wouldn't call him sighting a sniper rifle at me not hearing from him exactly" I said. "I would love to think that he's lying dead in the river but something tells me it won't be that easy to get rid of him" I said with a sad shake of the head.

I climbed off of Ranger's lap and sat beside him on the couch. I looked at him, feeling a little nervous for some reason.

Ranger caught the mood shift and looked at me seriously. "What is it Babe? I smell burning."

"I was hoping you could explain some things to me. I don't know much about the Rambo stuff that you guys do so I'm a little confused about what happened tonight. I know that you don't like to share a lot but…"

"Babe" Ranger said taking my hand in his, bringing it to his lips for a soft kiss. "I have no problem sharing that kind of information with you. I never knew that you were interested. Anytime you have questions, ask and I'll do my best to explain whatever I can to you. And besides, from what Tank and the guys tell me, you were quite the badass when you and your team stormed that barn" he said in all seriousness. I just looked at him. "Really" he added.

"Well, that's very nice to hear, I think, but I was talking more about what I saw tonight" I said.

Ranger smiled a devastating smile at me. "Let's call Ella for dinner since it's" he glanced at his watch, "8:00 and we haven't eaten since McDonalds and then I want you to ask away."

I nodded at him "I'm always hungry after a crisis" I said.

Ranger called Ella while I excused myself to the bathroom since I never did get to go after my nap.

I found Ranger sitting at the breakfast bar. He was sipping a bottle of water and had poured me a fresh diet coke with ice.

"Thanks" I said and took a long, cold swig. I hiccupped as the carbonation tickled my throat. I covered my mouth feeling silly. "Sorry" I said with a smile. Ranger just smiled back.

I sat down across from him and folded my hands in front of me.

"So Babe what do you want to know?" Ranger asked.

"Well I guess it would be best to start at the beginning. What was Morelli doing here and why was he walking into our bedroom?"

Ranger had his lips pressed firmly together.

"I honestly don't know why Morelli decided to open the bedroom door. We walked into the apartment together. I made a quick stop in the bathroom and when I came out I found you on top of him on the living room floor" Ranger said with a slight look of displeasure.

I thought for a moment.

"He probably heard me hit the floor. When I dove to the floor after I saw the laser it was a little less than graceful" I said with a grimace.

"Morelli was here to drop off some printouts related to Paula de Escobar's cell phone. The warrant came through and the cell provider ran a report of activity for the last week, that's all that was covered under the warrant, the last week going forward. The problem is the report just looks like pages of numbers. It lists some sort of coordinates and signal angle information. An experienced person should be able to look at the data and after some analysis, triangulate an approximate location where the phone was when the calls were placed. Unfortunately since it's after hours the cell provider wasn't willing to pay someone overtime to do the analysis and there's no one at the PD capable of doing it. So Morelli brought the reports here and if one of the tech guys downstairs can't figure it out, we'll scan it and send it to Silvio" he said.

"Is there a way to trace the phone if it's not in use?" I asked. This was another one of those things I didn't know much about. Ranger told me that day in Virginia that if I stayed on the phone with Morelli for too long the call could be traced down. But that's about all I knew.

"No. Her phone is an older model. A lot of the newer phones have built in GPS but hers doesn't" Ranger said.

"So if another call is placed from the phone they'll be able to trace it?" I hoped.

"They should be able to triangulate an approximate location. Beyond that, I don't know what can be done" Ranger said. So maybe this wasn't such a great lead after all I thought but decided not to share my pessimism with Ranger.

"So what else do you want to know?" Ranger asked.

I thought for a moment trying to remember the questions I had earlier.

"I had all the lights out in the bedroom and we're on the 7th floor. How did Scrog, assuming it was Scrog, see me at the window? I wouldn't think anyone could see me under those conditions" I said.

"From what you told me, it sounds like he was standing out there watching the building wearing night vision goggles. It's possible he used a night vision scope but you said he didn't pull out the rifle until he came around the building and situated himself in the alcove and immediately sighted at the window right?" I nodded.

"I figure he was watching from the alley with night vision goggles and then when he saw you standing by the window he came around, pulled out the rifle and used the laser to sight the shot while still wearing the goggles" Ranger said.

"I didn't get a good look at his head or face. He was wearing all black and I'm pretty sure he was wearing a hood." I thought for a moment.

"Why did you guys turn on all those flood lights only to turn around and kill all the lights a few seconds later?"

"Well, we were going on the assumption that Scrog was wearing night vision goggles. He couldn't have used thermal imaging to see you up here because that doesn't work through glass.

Most night vision available on the street is the old, Russian-made kind that has found its way from the black market. Any night vision that dates back to Vietnam or earlier can easily be disabled by bright light. It actually shuts the equipment right down and then it takes a few minutes for it to reboot basically.

Rangeman uses a high-end night vision supplier who is also contracted by the U.S. Government. That's the advantage of being a reputable Corporation with money and a reputation for being badass. Our third generation night vision equipment doesn't shut down not light, not even from a flash bang grenade. There is about a two second interruption but then it resumes as it was" Ranger said looking rather proud.

"You like having all the cool toys don't you Ranger" I said with a smile.

Ranger reached across the breakfast bar and took my hands in his.

"Yeah Babe, I do. I have an image to maintain you know" he replied with a grin.

Ella knocked on the door and then let herself in. She was pushing a rolling cart loaded with dishes and trays.

"Hello dear" Ella said to me. "Carlos" she nodded at Ranger. I saw her eyes focus on our joined hands and a smile spread across her face.

"It's so lovely to see you both" she continued to beam. "Why don't I set you a nice table in the dining room, it will only take a minute" Ella said bustling to the cupboard for plates.

"That's not necessary" Ranger said. Ella continued to bustle.

"I'll uncork a nice bottle of wine to go with your dinner" Ella said and made a move toward the wine rack.

Ranger slid off of his stool and gently grabbed Ella by the shoulders from behind. "Really Ella, we're fine" Ranger said.

"Yeah, we're comfortable in here. I just want to eat and then take a quick shower so I can get Ranger into bed early tonight." As soon as I finished saying the words my brain caught up and I realized how that sounded. I hadn't meant it in a sexual way, I just knew that Ranger hadn't gotten much sleep the last few days and could use a full night of rest.

Ranger looked at me over the top of Ella's head, a naughty smile on his lips. If possible Ella's face lit up even more and I think I saw her waggle her eyebrows at me.

"Oh, well, I'll just get out of your way then and don't worry I won't be back tonight. I'll collect the dishes tomorrow when I clean" she said over her shoulder and quickly let herself out.

Ranger stalked over to me, a predatory gleam in his eyes. I felt like the gazelle about to be eaten by the tiger. It was unnerving and sexy at the same time. He reached for me and I tried to jump back but I bumped into the breakfast bar instead.

Ranger placed his hands on the bar on either side of me, leaned in close and licked a long trail up my neck.

"Gotcha" he said as a shiver raced up my spine.

Ranger lifted me up and lay me gently on the bar on my back, my legs dangling over the edge of the counter. He stood between my knees and leaned down to cover me with his body, supporting his weight on his forearms on either side of me.

Ranger paused with his lips a breath away from mine, his eyes locked on mine. He very gently brushed his lips side to side over mine, his intense gaze never wavering. I was starting to pant just from his proximity

Ranger closed his eyes and then spoke in a breathy voice, his lips grazing mine as he spoke, his body trembling over me.

"Christ Steph, do you have any idea what you do to me?" He paused, his breathing unsteady, his lips resting lightly on my cheek near the corner of my mouth.

"It's taking every ounce of control that I have to keep myself from ripping off your clothes and fu…"

His words were cut off as I crashed my mouth over his, my fingers grasping him behind the head, threading through his silky hair. I pressed my face against his, mouth open, devouring him with hot, wet kisses.

I kissed his chin, the underside of his jaw and then I licked the shell of his ear, nibbling on the soft lobe. I moved my mouth to that perfect spot on his neck just below his ear. I licked him there and then scraped my teeth along the corded muscles in his neck.

Ranger growled then jumped back, standing about five feet from me. His eyes were blazing, his chest heaving. I'm pretty sure I looked about the same.

"What about dinner?" Ranger said in a gruff voice.

In response I slid off of the counter and quickly stripped off all of my clothes. I was completely naked standing there in the middle of Ranger's kitchen with Ranger fully clothed just a few feet away and for the first time in my life I didn't feel self-conscious about being naked. Ranger made me feel beautiful and bold and sexy as hell.

Ranger seemed a little shell-shocked by what I had done but he recovered quickly. He closed the distance between us and sealed his mouth over mine. As we kissed each other deeply we worked together to get Ranger out of his clothes. Once he was naked he stood up straight and looked at me as I drank in the sight of him appreciatively. God he was beautiful.

I grabbed him around the neck and kissed him hard. He returned the forceful kiss with enthusiasm.

"I'm ready to explode" Ranger gritted out against my lips.

"I know, I can't wait" I said and spun around placing my elbows on the breakfast bar, bending over slightly in invitation. I looked at Ranger over my shoulder and within a second he was behind me, buried deep inside of me. The orgasm hit me almost immediately as he thrust into me hard and fast. I turned my head towards him and he claimed my lips in a hot kiss. He kissed my face, my neck, my ear. He started sucking at the nape of my neck and I felt myself start to tighten again. I moaned loudly as another orgasm racked my body. I felt Ranger shudder his release and let out a groan as I clamped down around him.

For a moment we were still, trying to get ourselves under control. I way laying forward, flat on the counter and Ranger was on top of me, covering me with his body. Once our breathing returned to normal Ranger kissed my neck one last time then straightened up and slipped out of me. Before I knew what was happening Ranger had picked me up in a fireman's carry, my bare ass high in the air. I let out a squeal and then relaxed and enjoyed the view of Ranger's fine naked behind.

He carried me into the bathroom and deposited me on the floor in front of the shower. As the water heated up Ranger pulled me to him and held me tight.

"You're amazing" he said into my hair.

"So are you" I said back.

We showered and then ate our delicious dinner. Just as I had hoped, Ranger and I were fed, bathed and between the sheets by 10:00 although Ranger seemed to have other things on his mind besides sleep.

_A/N – This chapter was not supposed to contain smut. Apparently Steph and Ranger were feeling randy because they just took over the story and made it what they wanted it to be. Oh well it happens, I'm certainly not complaining. Thanks for reading! --Heidi_


	19. Chapter 19

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_He carried me into the bathroom and deposited me on the floor in front of the shower. As the water heated up Ranger pulled me to him and held me tight._

"_You're amazing" he said into my hair._

"_So are you" I said back._

_We showered and then ate our delicious dinner. Just as I had hoped, Ranger and I were fed, bathed and between the sheets by 10:00 although Ranger seemed to have other things on his mind besides sleep._

_**Chapter Nineteen**_

Early the next morning Ranger woke me, showering my neck and bare back with warm wet kisses. As usual he asked me if I wanted to go down to the gym with him. But, unusually, I surprised the hell out of him when I told him yes I would.

"Really?" he asked as he continued to kiss my neck and back, sweeping my hair aside to afford himself better access.

"Mmmmmm, really" I said on a sigh. Ranger really knows how to wake a girl up right.

"What made you decide to join me Babe? You hate the gym" Ranger said between the kisses and licks he was placing on my bare skin.

When he licked the length of my spine from my neck all the way down to my butt crack, I felt myself go damp and my hormones kicked into high gear. All thoughts of exercise and conversation flew out of my mind.

I moaned and rolled over onto my back to face him. I made to grab Ranger and pull him down on top of me but he jumped back and stood beside the bed. I noticed he was already dressed in black basketball shorts, black ankle socks and black Nike running shoes. His sculpted torso was still bare and I lingered a moment to admire his incredible pecs and rock hard abs before pulling my eyes up to his face.

He was smiling a shit-eating grin and that was when it hit me. _He wasn't coming back to bed to finish what he started!_

"You!" I said with disbelief, grabbed a pillow and chucked it at him as hard as I could.

"Use it Babe. Take that frustration and annoyance and go with it. Take it out on the treadmill or the heavy bag. We leave in five" he said and turned tail out of the bedroom closing the door behind him.

"Errrrrrr!" I yelled in frustration.

I jumped out of bed flinging pillows and blankets away without regard.

I grabbed some shorts, a sports bra and a pair of panties from the bureau and stomped into the bathroom slamming the door. I paused. On second thought, one great tease deserves another right?

I went pee, brushed my teeth and tamed my hair a little with my hands. I walked naked back out to the bedroom door. I took a deep breath and flung the door open then sashayed through it a few steps.

"You know, it's too bad you're in such a rush to get downstairs. I could really use some help in the shower. I'm feeling very dirty" I said in my best sex-kitten voice, head tilted down, looking up through lowered lashes.

When Ranger didn't reply I raised my head and froze in horror when I realized that I was standing naked in Ranger's living room, not in front of Ranger, but rather a very happy looking Lester.

"You don't have to ask me twice honey" he said with a smile, reaching behind him to pull his shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor. For a few seconds I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. We just stood there staring at each other. Then like that I snapped out of my shock.

I shrieked like I never have before, covered myself with my hands as best I could and backed myself into the bedroom. I kicked the door closed then ran into the bathroom slamming that door and locking it behind me.

I have never been more embarrassed in my entire life and that's saying a lot! I just stood in Ranger's living room, buck naked, in front of Lester. I wonder if it's possible to actually die of embarrassment.

My mind drifted. Wow, that Lester has one _ripped_ upper body. He's leaner than Ranger and his skin is more café au lait than mocha latte but still delicious looking. I wonder what it would be like to run my tongue…_No Steph, BAD Steph, don't go there!_

I turned on the shower and looked at my naked self in the mirror as the water heated up.

I might not be the thinnest, prettiest, most voluptuous girl around, but I don't look half bad. The embarrassed flush that covered my cheeks was quite becoming especially when added to that thoroughly fucked glow I was sporting. Sigh.

Of course, none of that mattered because I never planned to leave Ranger's bathroom ever again. I wonder if Ella would be opposed to serving me my meals in the bathroom.

As I contemplated the feasibility of living in this room for the rest of my life, I washed, conditioned and shaved all the important places.

I guess it would probably be ok to sleep in the bedroom since the bathroom, although luxurious, wasn't designed for sleeping in. Besides, Ranger's sheets are the best sheets ever made.

I turned off the shower and squeezed the excess water from my hair.

I stepped into the steamy room and towel dried my hair and body.

I wiped some steam from the mirror with the side of my fist so I could see to apply moisturizer and stifled a scream when I saw Ranger's reflection in the mirror.

I spun around to face him clutching my chest.

"You scared the crap out of me Ranger!"

His lips twitched like he was thinking about smiling.

I walked over to the door, grabbed Ranger's robe from the hook and slipped it on, belting it tightly around my waist. I leaned back with my hands resting on the edge of the vanity.

"So…is Lester totally traumatized?" I asked, not knowing what else to say to break the ice.

"Hardly, Babe. More like totally turned on" Ranger said. "I told him if he didn't get rid of the smirk and the hard-on immediately I'd assign him to guard Grandma Mazur indefinitely. I don't know about the hard-on, but the smirk was gone instantly." Ranger chuckled then leaned in and kissed me softly on the mouth.

"I'd still like to get in a quick workout, you still want to join me?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't think so. In fact, I'm planning on becoming a recluse. I don't plan to leave this bathroom ever again except to sleep in the bedroom at night. I figure there's little to no chance of running into Lester in here."

Ranger smiled a full-on smile.

"Come on Babe. You made his day, you shouldn't be embarrassed. Besides, Lester offered to let you see him naked if it would make you feel better" Ranger said with a chuckle.

"Hmmm." Tempting, I thought as the image of Lester's bare chest flashed into my mind. I wonder if the rest of his body is toned as perfectly as his chest. I unconsciously licked my lips which were suddenly dry.

"Babe" Ranger gritted out, his mouth in a tight line.

"Huh?" I said coming back to the present. The look on Ranger's face told me that he followed my mental gymnastics and didn't like it much.

A blush crept over my face. God, what's wrong with me? I must be a nympho! I've got the Cuban Sex God at my disposal, well most of the time, and here I am daydreaming about seeing Lester naked. Someone shoot me and put me out of my misery. This isn't even my fault really.

"It's all _your_ fault" I said smacking Ranger lightly on the arm. I walked into the bedroom. "You got me all hot and bothered and then left me hanging with my hormones raging. And _then_ you go and offer to let me see Lester naked! Sheesh, I'm only human you know!" I raved.

Ranger followed me into the bedroom. I pulled on a pair of black cotton panties from the top drawer of the bureau and shimmied into them. I untied the robe, carried it back into the bathroom and hung it up on the hook.

When I spun around to go back into the bedroom to finish dressing I slammed into Ranger. My naked chest slapped against Ranger's equally bare one.

Ranger wrapped his arms around me and spoke in a seductive voice. "Well, we can't have you walking around all hot and bothered now can we? We'll just have to get our workout another way Babe" Ranger said before lifting me up and kissing me deeply. He walked me into the bedroom and tossed me onto the bed. Then, like a jungle cat, Ranger pounced.

---------------

An hour later I was scrounging in my borrowed part of the bureau for something decent to wear. I wasn't finding much unless I wanted to wear the same clothes I wore a day or two ago and a proper Burg girl doesn't like to wear the same outfit twice in one week. Let's face it, I didn't bring enough clothes here with me. I slid into a pair of jeans and a dark purple cotton pullover.

I looked at Ranger in the mirror. He was sitting on the side of the bed lacing up his boots. He was wearing his all black SWAT clothes, ready to get to work.

"I'd like to stop by my apartment and pick up some more clothes today" I said to his reflection as I worked my hair into a ponytail.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have Ella do some shopping for you?" he asked.

I turned to face him.

"No, I just did some shopping last week and I haven't had a chance to wear any of those clothes yet. Besides, Ella buys me clothes that make my ass hang out" I said with a grimace.

"I know" Ranger said with a devilish grin.

"Well, I went shopping at Victoria's Secret while I was at the mall and I hit a great sale. I haven't had a chance to model any of my purchases" I purred with a devilish grin of my own.

Ranger stepped up close to me. "It _would_ be a shame to let new lingerie sit all by itself in that empty apartment" Ranger said and kissed my ear.

"Let's check in downstairs then we'll head over there" Ranger said handing me my Sig in its holster. I checked the clip then slid it back into the holster clipping it onto my belt.

As an afterthought I walked into the dressing room and pulled out the ankle holster and baby Glock I had left there. I sat on the bed and attached the gun to my right ankle concealing it beneath my jeans.

"Lookin' good Babe" Ranger said with a smile.

He crooked an arm around my neck and we took the elevator down to the control room.

Woody and Manny were working the monitors.

"Report" Ranger said.

"All's quiet," Manny said, "it's damn eerie."

Ranger nodded and we headed down the hall to Tank's office.

"What's happenin'?" Tank asked.

"We're heading over to Steph's apartment. Let's plan to meet here at" Ranger glanced at his watch, "noon. Call Ella and arrange lunch."

"You want guards while you're out?" Tank asked.

Ranger looked at me then back at Tank.

"No. Santos and Brown are on shadow."

Ugh, Lester? This is SO not my day!

"OK Boss. You want me to invite Morelli?" Tank asked picking up the phone.

"Taken care of" Ranger replied. Hmmm, wonder when he talked to Morelli.

We left Rangeman in Ranger's big black badass truck. I didn't see Bobby and Lester but I knew they were out there somewhere.

We parked in the lot behind my building close to the door. Ranger scanned the lot before coming around to my side. I had my Sig in my hand, my eyes alert and assessing.

We entered the building and took the stairs to the second floor.

Ranger took my keys and unlocked the door. I was surprised when he didn't tell me to wait in the hall while he swept the apartment.

I followed Ranger in, our guns drawn. We swept the kitchen, living room and dining area. The quiet of the apartment was stifling, the air stagnant. It felt creepy instead of like home.

I stood to the side of the bedroom door as Ranger opened it. I followed him in and stopped dead in my tracks next to him.

There on my bed sat a woman. Her face was ashen, her mouth frozen in a surprised "o". Her eyes were open but unseeing. If the far off look in her eyes didn't give away the fact that she was dead, the bullet hole between her eye brows certainly did.

Scrawled on the wall over my bed in red lipstick were the words _Practice Makes Perfect_.

Ranger put out an arm to tell me to stay back while he checked the bathroom and closet.

Then Ranger was back beside me on the phone. He was talking, barking out orders, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. My lips were numb, my blood cold, but I couldn't look away.

The woman looked to be in her early to mid thirties. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a low pony tail. Her unseeing eyes were a deep shade of blue, so dark in fact that they looked almost fake. Her lipstick matched the shade on the wall.

She was propped up on pillows in what I guessed was supposed to be a seductive pose although given the fact that she was dead, it came across as grotesque instead. She had her knees bent, feet flat on the bed, her legs spread wide to reveal her crotch, her hands resting on her knees. She was wearing a matching deep blue satin camisole and panties set.

"Oh God" I gasped as realization dawned on me.

Ranger was behind me holding me to him with an arm around my waist.

I tried to maneuver away from him, to take a closer look but Ranger held me still.

"We don't want to disturb the crime scene any more than we already have Steph" he said close to my ear.

"But…but…she's wearing my new lingerie" I squeaked and craned my neck to look at Ranger.

A dark look crossed his face. I myself was trying not to get hysterical, best not to think about the dead woman on my bed. I was gonna lose it, shit.

"That son of a bitch! Of all the horrible, no-good things to do to a woman. It's bad enough he left a dead woman in my apartment, but to dress her in my new lingerie and my new 'Red Stiletto' lipstick! I never even got to wear them!" I sobbed.

_A/N – Sorry if most of this chapter was useless fluff. I don't know how it happened. The action should pick up from here. Thanks for reading and for the nice reviews. I appreciate it! Hugs, Heidi_


	20. Chapter 20

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

"_We don't want to disturb the crime scene any more than we already have Steph" he said close to my ear._

"_But…but…she's wearing my new lingerie" I squeaked and craned my neck to look at Ranger._

_A dark look crossed his face. I myself was trying not to get hysterical, best not to think about the dead woman on my bed. I was gonna lose it, shit._

"_That son of a bitch! Of all the horrible, no-good things to do to a woman. It's bad enough he left a dead woman in my apartment, but to dress her in my new lingerie and my new 'Red Stiletto' lipstick! I never even got to wear them!" I sobbed._

_**Chapter Twenty**_

"Babe, we need to worry about the dead lady here right now. I'll buy you new lingerie and lipstick, I promise, lots and lots of it" Ranger said taking my face between his hands, looking into my eyes, his expression serious.

I gasped.

"You don't think that's Paula de Escobar do you?" I asked Ranger looking at the body.

"I don't know Babe" Ranger said releasing me and turning toward the bed. "The hair and eye color and build seem to match." He studied her face. "There's something weird about the eyes."

"Yeah, the color, it looks fake."

A minute later I heard the apartment door open. Morelli called out.

"Steph?"

"In the bedroom" I said.

Ranger and I were standing by the bedroom door not wanting to corrupt the scene.

Morelli came in wearing rubber gloves. He stepped carefully into the room and started to look around not touching anything.

"Joe? What's the story with Javier de Escobar? I think this could be his sister, Paula" I said glancing at the body finally getting over the urge to stare and trying hard not to throw up or hyperventilate.

"He was released first thing this morning. The D.A. dropped the charges since he was acting in defense of a third party and didn't injure the man" Morelli said pausing to look at me. "He has to check in with his Parole Officer weekly and they're requiring him to get career counseling so he can get training for a decent job. He left a note for you with the processing officer. It's in my coat pocket if you want to grab it" Morelli said stepping up to me, leaning his hip toward me.

I reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of yellow legal paper.

_ Dear Miss Plum,_

_ I want to thank you very much for working to find my sister Paula. You are very kind. Call my cell day or night if I can help in any way. Please keep me up to speed and know that I appreciate your assistance tremendously._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Javier T. de Escobar_

His cell phone number was written on the bottom of the page.

"Well that's interesting" I said to Ranger showing him the note.

"Look like he be multilingual too" Ranger said with an almost smile.

"Do you think it would be appropriate for me to call him to see if he can ID the body as Paula?" I asked Ranger and Morelli.

"Well, I don't think you should bring him in here with her like this. Once the M.E. comes and gets her on a gurney I think it would be ok" Morelli said looking at the window, opening the curtains, searching for evidence.

"I agree" said Ranger with a nod.

At that moment several people moved into the apartment and into my little bedroom. There were three Crime Scene Techs carrying tool boxes and a camera bag. Lester and Bobby walked in followed by Carl and Big Dog.

I stepped out into the living room to give them space. Ranger and Morelli stayed in the bedroom.

As soon as I saw Lester I turned away from him going to stand by the window. I was looking out but not really seeing anything. Ugh, what a shitty day.

"Don't stand in front of the window Steph" Lester said from close behind me.

I turned around to face him still not actually looking at him and blew out a sigh.

"Thanks Les. It's stupid to stand in the window and give Scrog a free shot, sorry. Just add that to the list of stupid things I've done so far today and hey, the day is still young" I said glancing at my shoes.

"Steph" Lester said quietly but firmly. He used a finger under my chin to guide my gaze up to meet his. "What you did this morning wasn't stupid honey. It was spontaneous and bold and sexy…just like you. I'm just sorry I interrupted your fun, although I have to say I enjoyed the view very much" he said waggling his eyebrows at me.

I snorted. "I just feel like an idiot, like I gave everyone else another reason to laugh at me. I'm nothing if not entertainment for you guys right?" I said with a disturbed laugh.

"Steph, it's not like that. You bring a kind of light to the world that we don't very often see in our business. You're one of a kind and we all love you. The Boss is a lucky man and besides I didn't tell anyone that it happened. Only you, me and Ranger know. Now stop wasting time being all embarrassed and warm up that Spidey Sense of yours. We've got a psycho to catch" he said with a killer smile.

I blinked back the tears threatening to spill and grabbed Lester in a bear hug. I pulled back and punched him lightly on the arm. "Thanks you big lug" I said with a smile.

Lester crooked an arm around my neck and kissed the top of my head.

We turned away from the window to find Ranger standing about five feet away.

Lester gave my shoulder a squeeze then stepped away.

He paused when he reached Ranger and I heard him say "You're a lucky man Boss, she's a keeper."

Ranger gave him a slight nod and a slap on the back. It might have been my imagination but I thought I saw Lester wince at the slap and roll his shoulders as he walked toward the bedroom.

"Hey Babe' Ranger said pulling me into his arms. "You and Les make up?" he asked with a little grin.

"Yeah, turns out he enjoyed seeing me naked and all the Merry Men love me." I shot him a wink and was overcome by a smile when I saw Ranger's brow crease and his eyes narrow.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist Carlos, I only have eyes for you" I said then gave him a hard, quick kiss on the lips and a squeeze.

Ranger pulled back a moment later, a funny look on his face.

"You called me Carlos" he said.

"Well, that _is_ your name" I said with an exaggerated eye-roll.

I turned toward the door at the sound of a stretcher being rolled in. The M.E. walked in behind it.

A shudder passed through my body at the memory of when they wheeled a stretcher in to bring Ranger to the hospital after Scrog shot him.

Ranger looked down at me. "You alright Babe?"

"Yeah, I'm ok" I said, although I wasn't sure if that was true or not.

"Do you want to call Javier or do you want me to do it?" Ranger asked sensing my distress.

"I'll call him" I said pulling out my cell phone and the note.

I dialed Javier's cell number. He answered on the second ring.

"Yeah?"

"Javier, it's Stephanie Plum, listen I…I…shit" I took a deep breath.

"What is it Steph? Just tell me" Javier insisted.

I blew out a sigh.

"Ranger and I found a woman's body in my apartment this morning. We don't know at this point but judging by the appearance it could be Paula."

The line was silent for a few beats then I heard Javier curse under his breath.

"Where are you?" he asked.

I gave him the address and offered to have someone pick him up at his apartment but Javier said he'd rather drive himself.

The body was zipped into a body bag and loaded onto the stretcher. Morelli walked out of the bedroom followed by the M.E. They walked up to Ranger and me. The M.E. seemed to be focused on me.

"Bernie Fowler, I'm the new Medical Examiner. I was wondering when I would have the pleasure to meet you" he said shaking my hand a little longer than necessary, smiling broadly at me. "I've heard so much about you Stephanie" he beamed.

Ranger cleared his throat loudly. Bernie snapped his attention up to Ranger who gave him that look that makes even the most hardened criminals wet their pants. Bernie's smile quickly disappeared, a nervousness settling over him.

"Female Jane Doe, mid thirties. I suspect the cause of death is the bullet to the head, I saw no other signs of trauma. Judging by the body temperature and the state of rigor mortis, I estimate the time of death between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m. I will of course conduct a thorough examination back at the Coroner's office" Bernie said efficiently.

Raised voices carried in from the hallway.

"I'm sorry sir but you can't go in there. This is a closed crime scene" I heard Big Dog say.

"I was asked to come here. I was called by Miss Plum. Is Detective Morelli inside? He knows me. Please" Javier said firmly.

Morelli and I both took off for the door. Big Dog opened the door just as we stepped up to it.

"Steph" Javier said, "This guy doesn't want to let me in."

"He's fine Big Dog, I called him" I said.

Big Dog looked at Morelli. "Your crime scene, your call Morelli."

"He's here to possibly identify the body" Morelli said waving Javier into the apartment.

"Thank you sir" Javier said to Morelli.

The gurney carrying the body was still parked in my tiny hall, partly in the living room. We all walked over to it. The M.E. stood at the head ready to unzip the body bag.

I stood next to Javier with Ranger by my side. Morelli was on Javier's other side. Big Dog, Bobby and Les stood in the small foyer near the front door.

"Ready?" Bernie asked Javier.

Javier swallowed hard then nodded his head. He had put on a brave face but I could feel him trembling next to me.

I felt horrible, this was all my fault!

I reached out and grasped Javier's ice cold hand in mine as Bernie unzipped the bag.

Javier sucked in a quick breath and his shoulders slumped, his head dropped forward.

A moment passed where no one spoke or moved. Shit, I hate this.

Javier kept his head tilted down but shook it slowly from side to side.

"It's not her, it's not Paula" he said with a shaky voice. "Thank you Jesus" he said looking skyward.

I was incredibly relieved that it wasn't Paula, but at the same time that meant that Paula was still out there somewhere in danger and that this woman died so Scrog could act out his sick fantasy for me. The room started to spin.

"Breath Babe" Ranger said touching my back lightly. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath.

Javier suddenly stilled. "Wait a minute! Open that back up, I think I know her" he said.

I freed my hand from Javier's and shook it to get the blood flowing again.

Bernie revealed the woman's face again and we all looked at her for about thirty seconds.

"Dat's the nurse, I almost sure of it" he said excitedly. "The one dat Scrog was talkin' to at da prison, Kerry or Sherry or whatever her name."

"Sherry Sutherland" Ranger said.

"Are you sure Javier?" Morelli asked him.

"99 percent sure, hard ta tell wit da eyes closed" Javier answered.

The M.E. rolled the gurney out of the apartment. That left me, Ranger, Morelli and Javier in the living room.

"That's very helpful, thank you Javier" Morelli said.

"You're welcome" he replied with a nod. "Any word on my sister?" he asked us collectively.

Ranger spoke up first.

"Morelli got a warrant for the records from her cell phone. My men worked through the night last night to try and triangulate an approximate location where the call to Steph's phone was placed from. We were able to trace it down to downtown Trenton in the area of the Statehouse, probably on Stark Street. But that is give or take a couple of blocks in each direction."

I looked at Ranger eyes wide and crossed my arms over my chest. This was news to me! I don't know why he didn't feel the need to share that information with me but I was not happy about it.

Morelli took one look at the pissed off expression on my face, then shot a look at Ranger trying to warn him of my anger.

"I'll explain later Steph, put away the claws" Ranger said.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Uh-oh" Javier said. "I seen that look before, it ain't never good" he said.

"Uh…I need to talk to you about something" Morelli said to Javier. "Let's go talk in the hall" he said with a grin.

I assumed that Morelli was going to tell him about Paula's car being crashed last night, but he might have just been trying to get out of the line of fire.

Ranger grabbed the top of my arm and pulled me into a quiet corner in the living room.

"Stephanie, I got word about the cell phone this morning while you were _supposed_ to be getting dressed. That's why Lester was in the apartment, he brought up the report from Silvio. When I walked out of the kitchen and saw you standing there naked and Lester with his shirt off, I tossed the report aside. After I _cough_ talked to Lester and he left I looked at the print out and called Morelli with the location.

"I had planned to tell you about it when I came to visit you in the bathroom but you distracted me standing there naked and pink and sexy with water rolling down your body" Ranger said with a grin.

"Oh" I said as I saw Ranger's bedroom eyes looking back at me. When you put it that way how can he not be distracted?

"Well, why didn't you tell me in the truck on the way here? You were quiet in your driving zone as always" I said.

Ranger chuckled softly and pulled me into his arms, speaking softly, his lips brushing my ear.

"I wasn't exactly in my zone Steph. I was daydreaming about your new lingerie. I was imagining what kind of naughty goodies you had waiting for me to rip of with my teeth." Ranger chuckled then licked my ear when I gasped at his admission. "I was so focused on the goal of retrieving your sexy lingerie, the report never even crossed my mind" he finished kissing my neck with his hot moist mouth.

I sighed, uncrossed my arms and hugged him around the waist.

"Ok, well, just try to remember to include me next time ok" I said.

"We're in this together Babe, remember that" he said then leaned in for a soft, wet kiss.

I couldn't help the whimper that escaped my throat as he kissed me.

"Oh good, you two kissed and made up" Morelli said loudly. "We've got a situation" he said.

Ranger and I just stared at him waiting for him to tell us what happened. The Merry Men filtered into the room as we waited.

It was Javier who spoke. "Scrog just called my cell phone."

I sucked in a breath.

"He said that if I ever want to see my sister alive again, I have to meet him tonight" Javier said with a tight voice.

Ranger still had an arm around me and I felt him stiffen.

"That's not all" Morelli said.

Javier looked like it was something he really didn't want to say.

I looked at Javier, noticing that his face was pale and his hands were balled into fists.

"Just say it" I urged him.

Judging by the look on Morelli's face it was bad.

Javier took a deep breath then said in a rush "Scrog said the only way he gonna let Paula go is if I trade _you_ for her, Steph."

_A/N – Thank you so much to all of those who continue to read and send such great reviews. You guys are the best! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I really like it so I figure that it will be everyone else's least favorite. Thanks again! -- Special thanks to Uncherished Light for the wonderful, thoughtful email of encouragement. This ones for you babe :)._


	21. Chapter 21

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_It was Javier who spoke. "Scrog just called my cell phone."_

_I sucked in a breath._

"_He said that if I ever want to see my sister alive again, I have to meet him tonight" Javier said with a tight voice._

_Ranger still had an arm around me and I felt him stiffen._

"_That's not all" Morelli said._

_Javier looked like it was something he really didn't want to say._

_I looked at Javier, noticing that his face was pale and his hands were balled into fists._

"_Just say it" I urged him._

_Judging by the look on Morelli's face it was bad._

_Javier took a deep breath then said in a rush "Scrog said the only way he gonna let Paula go is if I trade you for her, Steph."_

_**Chapter Twenty-one**_

Ranger's blank face dropped into place but I could see the tension around his eyes and mouth.

"It's a'ight Steph. I ain't even thinkin' 'bout it" Javier said. His face was pale and he was barely breathing.

I sighed. "Actually this is just the break we've been waiting for, for Scrog to make a move" I said looking at Ranger.

He locked eyes with me and held my gaze as he waged his internal war. Ranger knew full well that I planned to send myself in if it was what it took to shut Scrog down but his first instinct told him to lock me away and not let that happen no matter what.

This time it was Javier who sucked in a breath at my words.

"No Steph, I'm serious. I don't wanna do it and I don't want _you_ to do it" Javier said.

Morelli and Bobby were voicing their opposition to any plan that involved sending me in. Ranger and surprisingly Lester remained silent appearing deep in thought.

"It wouldn't be just me going in. We're in this together Ranger" I said not really believing that _I _was the one insisting on meeting Scrog again. "This is your chance to help me do it the right way, so I can go in prepared, like we talked about."

Ranger wasn't showing any emotion whatsoever at this point.

"Let's head back to the office to regroup. Santos call in the team" Ranger said taking my hand in his and walking toward the door.

"No Steph. I will _not_ let you do it!" Javier said loudly.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. They all knew that _that_ was the best way to get me to do exactly what was being forbidden.

I spun around to face Javier and was just about to open my mouth to rip him a new one when I felt Ranger grasp both of my upper-arms gently from behind and lean his body into mine.

"Easy Babe" he whispered into my ear.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Javier, I appreciate your concern but it is _not_ your decision to make" I said through clenched teeth. What is it with men thinking they can tell me what to do?

"Javier, I'd like you to come back to Rangeman with us so we can discuss this. Will you do that?" Ranger asked in a "_don't even think about saying no" _voice.

"I…I…yeah, a'ight" he said looking from Ranger to me.

"Thank you" I told him.

"Steph, do you want to take anything from here? The original purpose of our trip was to pick up more clothes" Ranger said looking at me.

My stomach rolled at the thought of touching any of those clothes ever again. Who knows what else Scrog touched, _ick_!

"No" I whispered. "Maybe Ella could do some shopping if she doesn't mind."

"Of course Babe" Ranger said wrapping an arm around me.

The CSI team had finished their sweep and the door of the apartment was being sealed with crime scene tape forbidding entry under penalty of law.

Ranger and I got into his truck and lead the way out of the parking lot. Javier rode with Morelli in his SUV. Lester and Bobby were out there somewhere in the wind again.

Ranger was silent as he drove. I don't think that he was daydreaming about my lingerie this time.

I personally was feeling overwhelmed and kind of numb. I had so many thoughts running through my head I just couldn't keep up. My mind was racing, my trains of thought completely disjointed. I just want this to be done…I hope Scrog doesn't want me to wear the butt crack pants again…Where could I hide the GPS this time where Scrog wouldn't find it…It would have to be _inside_ of me or something, eww, is that possible…How the hell are we going to pull this off without one of us getting killed…I feel responsible for Javier and Paula…My family, I haven't seen them since this all started…I shouldn't have blown them off…Ranger, Oh God, I need to make sure that he remembers how I feel about him and that he doesn't blame himself, no matter what happens. I took a shaky breath.

"Babe" Ranger said softly touching my arm across the console.

"Hmm?" I said unconsciously, turning to look at him.

Ranger gave me a tight smile and it was then that I noticed that we were parked in Ranger's spot in the Rangeman garage. It looked like the guys had already headed into the building.

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice we were back. I was lost in thought I guess" I said sheepishly. Talk about not being aware of your surroundings.

"Yeah. I didn't want to disturb you. It looked like you were standing on the ledge looking down again but then your expression got so sad, I couldn't take it anymore" he said caressing my cheek with his fingers, his eyes concerned.

"Sorry" I said quietly closing my eyes and leaning into his touch. My throat was tight with emotion. "I love you, always" I whispered looking at him again.

Ranger cupped my face in his hands and leaned in close.

"I know baby" he said brushing his lips across mine. "I love you too Steph."

I leaned my cheek against his and just enjoyed the intimacy and peace of the moment.

Ranger took a deep shaky breath and sat back into his seat pulling me into his lap, my back against the door, legs across the console.

Ranger held me tight against him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to him.

"God, all I want to do is lock you away and keep you safe. I don't want you out there dealing with this asshole" Ranger said, his voice gruff. "But I know that's not the right thing to do."

I buried my face in his neck and squeezed him tighter.

"I know" I agreed, my lips grazing the scar on his neck from Scrog's bullet as I spoke. I didn't want Ranger any where near Scrog either. I won't let Scrog hurt him again.

After a moment I blew out a hard breath. "Let's go upstairs and get this figured out" I said pulling back to look at him. "When this is all said and done I'm gonna hold you to your word" I said with a grin.

"Oh yeah? Which word is that?"

"You told me that when this is over you're going to lock us in the house for at least a week" I said, grin widening.

"You know I'm a man of my word Babe" Ranger said before kissing me senseless.

---------------

The 5th floor conference room was bustling when we walked inside.

Large, hard, male bodies dressed all in black crowded around a buffet table at the back of the room, bringing back plates loaded with…omigod _real food_! There were meatball subs and pizza and Italian grinders. Of course there was salad too but that's alright.

Ranger looked down at me and smiled. "Pino's!" I said.

"Pino's Babe. I thought you could use some happy food." I smiled at him.

I saw Javier and Morelli already seated at the conference table. They had plates in front of them but Javier didn't seem to have much of an appetite.

I helped myself to a meatball sub and just to make Ranger happy I took some salad and a bottled water instead of soda.

"Good choice Babe" Ranger whispered to me as I took a seat next to him. I looked at his plate and saw that it mirrored mine, well except that he had more salad and I had more sub.

I surveyed the crowd as I ate and saw many faces I knew well. There was Tank, Bobby, Lester, Hal, Cal, Manny, Zero, Ram and Woody and of course Morelli, Ranger and Javier. There were also some faces that I had seen only one other time…the day we rescued Ranger from that barn. My meatball sub suddenly felt like a rock in the pit of my stomach. The memories of what Edward Scrog did to Ranger were still fresh in my mind and in my heart. Ranger's bruises had all but faded and his cuts were healing but on the inside the wounds were still fresh for me.

I didn't want to see Scrog again. I didn't want to look into his hard black eyes and see the haunted soul that resided there but he had to go down, no matter what. I told Ranger before that I wouldn't let Scrog hurt him ever again and I didn't keep my promise. Scrog did hurt him again. I won't make the same mistake twice. Edward Scrog is going down if it's the last thing I do. It ends tonight.

A shiver bolted up my spine and I couldn't help but shudder.

"How's your mental health Babe?" Ranger whispered into my ear, brushing back a stray curl that escaped from my ponytail.

I leaned toward him so I could speak to only him. "I just want to get this over with. I want my life back. I want to go to work. I want to go to Little Lenny's birthday party. I want to go to dinner at my parents' house. I wanna see Sally and Lula sing another horrible set. I want to live my life again" I said with a sad shake of my head.

"You will Babe. I promise" he said softly. But we both knew from past experience that there were no guarantees.

Ranger stroked his thumb over my cheek then tweaked my nose with a tiny smile.

"Let's get down to business" Ranger said, his voice the picture of authority.

----------------

Five minutes later, lunch mess cleared away, we were all seated with open files spread on the table in front of us.

"Javier, can you tell us exactly what Scrog said?" Ranger asked looking at him seriously.

Javier looked like he was ready to barf.

"Well I can't say it like word for word but I can try to get it close" he said.

"That would be great" I said giving him an encouraging smile. I knew how intimidating these guys could be, especially when there were 15 or more of them packed in the same room.

"My phone rang while I was in the hallway with Detective Morelli. The caller ID said _blocked caller_. I wasn't gonna answer it but then I thought maybe it had to do with Paula." He licked his lips, took a deep breath and continued.

"I said hello. Scrog said 'Hello my friend.' I recognized his creepy voice right away. So I asked him what he wanted. He said he had something of mine. I played it off like I didn't know what he was talking about. He said to cut the bullshit, he knew I had been to my apartment. He said he wanted to make a trade. I didn't know what the hell he was gonna ask for so I told him I was listening. He said if I ever wanted to see Paula alive again I had to bring Stephanie Plum and exchange her for my sister." Javier stopped speaking and locked eyes with me.

"I still think that the whole bunch of you must be insane to even think about giving Steph to him" he said, his eyes shifting around the room looking each man in the eye, his gaze finally settling on Ranger.

Wow, Javier has bigger balls than I thought.

"You're alright kid" Morelli said with a grin, slapping Javier on the back.

"Fair enough" Ranger said, his lips twitching at the corners. "What else did he say?"

"He said he'd call me tonight at midnight and I best be ready with Steph in the car because he ain't a patient guy."

"Did he give you any other instructions?" I asked.

"Yeah, he said I should watch out for you 'cause you're a feisty one and I'd probably need to knock you out to pull it off" Javier said with a grin.

Then Ranger did something that I seldom saw him do while conducting business. He smiled, not just a little smile, but a full wattage Ranger smile. It was full of pride and pointed right at me.

"Oh and he also said to make sure I ain't followed" Javier said.

"Do you think Scrog knows you're talking to us?" Ranger asked.

That was a good question. In the past it seemed that Scrog always knew much more than he should

"Nothing he said gave me that idea" Javier said. "But you sent guys over to my apartment the other night and I drove to Steph's place in my car. My car's still there so if he was lookin' he could probably figure it out and Scrog said he got eyes everywhere. Of course I left Steph's with Detective Morelli so maybe he don't know."

Damn Javier had bigger brains than I thought too!

"Good deduction" Ranger said with a nod.

"I have an idea" I said. Everyone turned to look at me. "Hear me out. I think we should fake my abduction" I said looking at my captive audience. No one said anything so I took that as a sign to continue. "I don't think we should let Scrog know that I'm going willingly. He'll assume a set-up. I think we need to stage Javier kidnapping me. Then he can pretend to stun me and stuff me in his car. Once Scrog calls with instructions, Javier will take me to him."

"Yeah and then what Steph? We just let Scrog kill you all?" Morelli asked obviously angry.

"He won't kill me. He needs me to get to Ranger. Scrog's life doesn't work as long as Ranger's alive" I said, my stomach all squishy.

"And how are we supposed to track you guys huh? You remember last time don't you? Within 30 minutes you were off the radar" Morelli ground out.

"That won't be a problem this time" Ranger said flatly.

We all looked at him waiting for an explanation.

"After what happened with Scrog the last time Rangeman felt the need to invest in some new high-tech equipment. We bought several new to the market GPS tracking devices. There are a few different options we can choose from for Steph, but I guarantee Scrog will never know that she's being tracked. Just to be sure, we'll plant an obvious device on her as a decoy for him to find. He'll think he outsmarted us but we'll be on top of it every step of the way."

"What's the plan once we meet Scrog? How'll you get us all out of there safe?" Javier asked Ranger.

"We do whatever it takes" Ranger said locking eyes with me. I nodded my head in agreement.

"We don't know what Scrog has planned but we know some about the way he works from past experience. I also think that he's getting desperate. This time around he's involved more people and taken more risks and that's caused him to make mistakes. He didn't block the cell number when he called from Paula's phone. He took a big risk just to toy with us by pointing the rifle at the building but then he crashed into the river and lost his sniper rifle. That rifle was traced back to the guns and ammo stolen from the bonds office. Scrog wants Steph and he'll do whatever it takes to get her to him. Then he'll use Steph to bring me to him so he can take me out" Ranger said.

"Which we _won't_ let happen" I said firmly, jaw tight with tension.

Ranger took my hand underneath the table and threaded our fingers together. "No Steph, we won't."

Morelli's beeper went off. He unclipped it from his belt and excused himself into the hall to call the station.

"Ten minute break" Ranger said.

He stood up from the table tugging me with him, our hands still intertwined.

Ranger walked us into his office and closed the door. He wrapped me in his arms and held me tight against him, his head resting firmly against mine. He wasn't saying anything; I don't think he was even breathing. I kept my arms around him as he worked through whatever he was dealing with.

After about two minutes he lifted his head and pulled back to look at me. He gazed at me intently then nodded firmly once. "Ok, we're really going to do this" he said.

I looked at him with some surprise. I hadn't been totally sure that Ranger would actually go through with it.

I smiled at him pleased that he had enough faith in me to go through with my plan. "Thank you" I whispered then placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"It's a good plan Babe" Ranger said then covered my mouth with his. The kiss was warm, hard and full of passion. Ranger's hands were splayed against my back pressing me to him. I held his face in my hands and kissed him for all I was worth.

---------------

When we reconvened Morelli said he had some information for us.

"The Medical Examiner used fingerprints to confirm that the body was Sherry Sutherland as Javier suspected. She was an RN working at Trenton State. The full autopsy is taking place as we speak but Bernie and a State Tech conducted a preliminary examination.

They're performing a tox screen because they saw what appeared to be several intramuscular injections sites on the body. The ME said there was a decent sized cut on the back of her head that was hidden by the ponytail. It looked like she was whacked pretty hard with a heavy object. Sherry's 2003 BMW was found stripped on lower Stark Street about an hour ago. There was a decent amount of blood on the backseat and the floor. They towed the car to the PD for testing."

Morelli paused and glanced at me. He flicked his eyes to Ranger then looked back at me. He seemed reluctant to say whatever he was about to say.

"Just spit it out Morelli" I prodded. He looked at me again but didn't speak. I had a horribly sick feeling in my stomach. "Please."

"There was one more significant thing the ME found during the initial examination. Sherry Sutherland was sexually assaulted…violently" he said locking eyes with me.

_A/N – Sorry for the delay again. I have the next chapter written but R/L (and 2 kids that love to use the PC) have limited my time to type. I might be able to get it up on Tuesday. One more chapter for set up and then the big showdown! At least I'm pretty sure that's the way it will go. Thanks for reading guys! Reviews are always welcome! Love ya!_


	22. Chapter 22

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_Morelli paused and glanced at me. He flicked his eyes to Ranger then looked back at me. He seemed reluctant to say whatever he was about to say._

"_Just spit it out Morelli" I prodded. He looked at me again but didn't speak. I had a horribly sick feeling in my stomach. "Please."_

"_There was one more significant thing the ME found during the initial examination. Sherry Sutherland was sexually assaulted…violently" he said locking eyes with me._

_**Chapter Twenty-two**_

I felt my stomach lurch as I jumped back out of my seat. I knew I'd never make it to the bathroom so I headed straight for the trashcan. Tank held it out to me just in time. I emptied my stomach one heave at a time. I felt a hand rubbing my back and knew it was Ranger. Then a cool, wet towel was draped across the back of my neck.

When I felt like I couldn't throw up anymore I pulled my head out of the trashcan and made to grab it away from Tank.

"I got it Steph" Tank said.

I shot him a grateful look and a pathetic apologetic smile. I wanted to be mortified by what had just happened but at this point I just couldn't.

"No worries Steph" Tank said as he left the room with my mess.

I used the towel from my neck to wipe my mouth then turned around to apologize to the guys.

"Must have been something I ate" I said attempting to lighten the mood. "Sorry. Anybody got a breath mint?"

About eight different people reached into their pockets and pulled out a treat. I decided on the piece of Big Red gum Lester offered and stuffed it into my mouth with a "thanks."

Once we were reseated, Morelli took one look at me and lost it.

"Manoso, I can't even fucking believe you're gonna let her do this! I always knew you're not right in the head. It's one thing to risk your own damn life but it's fucking reckless and just…fucking WRONG to risk Steph's life. Look at her for chrissake! Look at what that sick fuck did to that woman! Is that what you want to happen to Steph?" Morelli spat, eyes of fury, nostrils flaring.

Ranger's voice was calm when he spoke. His expression didn't change but his eyes grew hard and dark and very dangerous.

"I am not _letting_ her do it Morelli. I'm her lover not her keeper. I will do _everything_ in my power to keep her safe while giving her the tools and the freedom to get the job done. I understand her need to handle this herself just like she understands mine" Ranger finished his voice cold and steady.

I stared at Ranger, eyes wide in shock and awe. When he first spoke I thought he had changed his mind, that he wasn't going to go through with the plan but then he finished his little speech and I just didn't know what to say. No sweeter, more meaningful words had ever been spoken. Ranger glanced at me and his eyes softened.

"Thanks" I whispered to him.

"It's true Steph" Ranger said back softly.

Morelli blew out a breath and ran his hand over his face and through his hair. He looked like he was ready to throw up himself.

"Don't make me regret leaving the Feds out of the loop on this Manoso. You fuck it up and we'll both be in deep shit" Morelli said, sitting back down in his seat.

Ranger gave Morelli a curt nod. Morelli nodded back. I guess they reached an understanding.

"So what's the plan?" I asked the room as a whole trying really, really hard to forget about Sherry Sutherland and the horror she must have faced during her last hours.

"I got an idea for the kidnapping" Javier said tentatively.

"Let's hear it" Ranger told him.

Ranger relaxed back in his seat and took my hand in his placing them on his right thigh.

"Well…Scrog's seen my tattoos and he knows I got gang ties. What he don't know is I been out of it since I was 19. I was thinkin' what if we dress up some of these guys" he said sweeping his arm around the room indicating the Merry Men "like bangers and we bust in and grab her" Javier finished, an excited twinkle in his eye.

Some of the Merry Men were nodding their heads in approval. Hell, I thought it was a pretty smart idea myself.

"OK. Then what?" Ranger asked Javier.

Javier paused a moment. "Then I guess I drive around and wait for instructions" he said.

Ranger nodded. "We need to put a listening device and a tracker in your cell phone. Brown" Ranger said raising his chin at Bobby.

"On it Boss" Bobby said rising from his seat, taking the phone from Javier's outstretched hand and leaving the room with it.

"We need to talk about what will happen after the grab. I'll set up a dummy police response to the kidnapping" Morelli said. "Where will the grab happen?"

I thought about it for a minute. My parents' house? No, I don't want to scare them anymore than they already are. My apartment? Eww, I don't even want to think about going back there, plus it's still sealed with crime scene tape. Pino's? No, too many cops.

"Shorty's" Ranger and I both said at the same time.

Morelli looked like he wasn't too thrilled with that idea but he kept his objections to himself.

We spent another hour hammering out the details of the kidnapping. Javier was going to be driving a "stolen" car that he would be picking up on Stark Street. Of course it will have been planted there by the Merry Men and will have a tracking device onboard.

Around 2:30 half of the guys left to set everything up while the rest of us discussed what would take place after the grab.

Tank, Lester, Bobby, Hal, Cal, Manny and Zero remained along with me, Ranger, Morelli and Javier.

Rangeman and the PD were going to hang back and let Javier drive away with me. They were going to continue to hang back and count on the GPS to do its job until Javier and I were at whatever destination Scrog directed us to. After that we would have to play it by ear. How they expected to get a tracker by Scrog was still a mystery to me.

My cell phone buzzed on my jeans and I froze. If it was Scrog calling, I really didn't want to know.

"Babe, you gonna answer that?" Ranger asked with a raised eyebrow.

I reluctantly unclipped it and looked at the caller ID. I didn't recognize the number but it was a Jersey area code.

"Hello?" I said tentatively.

A woman's voice came across the line barely loud enough for me to hear.

"Is this Stephanie?" she asked sounding nervous or shaken up.

"Yes. Who's calling?" Ranger had leaned in close to hear the conversation. He hit the button on the side of the phone to turn up the volume a bit. He held up his hand asking for silence in the room.

"It's Stacey Farnsworth, we went to high school together. My family moved away senior year but I moved back to Trenton a few years ago" she said speaking with a bit more confidence.

"Oh…yeah, I remember you. How are you and…how did you get my number?"

"I'm fine Steph. I called your parents' house and got the number form your Grandmother. Boy she's as lively as ever isn't she?" She said with a chuckle. "Anyway look…this is going to sound really strange but something weird happened and I felt like I should take the time to call and tell you about it."

"OK. What happened?" I didn't like the sound of this, nope not one bit. I switched my cell over to speaker phone mode so the rest of the guys could hear what she had to say.

"I work at the Trenton Public Library on Academy Street. I'm the Reference Librarian. Anyway, there was this man in here earlier today. He was about 5 foot 10, brown hair, brown eyes and a goatee. I think he's Hispanic but I can't say for sure." Ranger and I looked at each other. It had to be Edward Scrog.

"I've seen this guy before. A few months ago he used to come in a lot but then I didn't see him for a while. He didn't have a goatee then. Anyway…he's come in a couple times over the last four or five days. I didn't think anything about him until today. Today when he came in he was acting really strange. He looked a mess. His clothes were all wrinkled and he had rips in his flannel shirt. He looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days and his face and hands were dirty and he was acting like he was insane or high or something. He kept talking to himself and he seemed really paranoid."

"What made you think he might be crazy or high?" I asked.

"His eyes. His eyes were crazy looking. They were wide and bloodshot and he was really jittery and he looked like he was looking over his shoulder all the time. I was working on a project in the store room about 15 feet from where the PCs are that the public can use to go online. Today he surfed the web for about an hour or so. He was muttering to himself the whole time, but I mostly couldn't make out what he was saying. When I peeked he was looking at maps each time at first. Then his muttering got louder and louder until he was almost yelling. I thought I was going to have to call the police." Damn that would have been good. The police could have taken him down and this would be done with. Of course it might have just turned into a bloodbath.

"When he got loud enough so I could make out what he was saying, he was saying '_You stupid b-i-t-c-h' _sorry I just feel funny swearing over the phone. Do you want me to spell the cuss words or should I just say it?" She asked shyly. Sheesh!

"Stacey, you're from Jersey, just say it" I said with a shake of my head.

"Ok well he was ranting and raving saying '_Stupid bitch, you'll get yours, You'll pay, He'll pay, I'll get what he took from me, everything that's his will be mine, especially you, You'll never disrespect me again, I'll have my fun then we will go to the angels together._' It was really, really freaky. His voice was just eerie. It seemed like the lights were on but nobody was home. So, I was about to sneak past him and call the police when I looked at the monitor and saw that he was looking at a picture of you Steph. It was one that was in the paper after the funeral parlor burned down. He saw me walk out of the store room and he immediately shut down the search engine and left the library. I didn't think it would do much good to call the police once he was gone but I thought I should call you and warn you to watch out" she finished out of breath.

"Thanks Stacey. There is a man who's giving me some trouble right now. It sounds like it was him. Did he ever tell you his name when he came in before?" I asked.

"He never told me his name but I heard him talking to a woman once and he told her his name was Ricardo" she said.

"Listen Stacey, is there any way I could have someone come by and take a look at that computer? The web history could be helpful in tracking him down. He's wanted by the police" I said.

"I don't see why that should be a problem" she said.

Ranger scribbled a message on the paper in front of me.

"Actually Stacey, what would be even more helpful would be if we could take the computer, just for a day or so. Is that possible?" I asked in my most charming voice.

"Well, who is we? Is it the police?" she asked.

Morelli raised his hand to volunteer to pick it up.

"I'll send Joe Morelli to pick it up. You remember Joe Morelli right? He's a detective with the Trenton PD in homicide and he's working the case" I said hoping that would sweeten the deal.

"Joe Morelli!" she said excitedly. "I haven't seen him in years. Is he still a hottie?"

"Yes, he's still a hottie and he'll be there in about 20 minutes" I said looking at Morelli who wore a smug grin.

"Oh, I need to go freshen up my make-up if Joe Morelli is coming. I'll put a sign on the computer saying it's broken. I'll be ready for Joe when he gets here, and Steph, call me if there's anything else I can do" Stacey said.

"Thanks Stacey, really."

"You're welcome Steph. Hey, is Joe dating anyone that you know of?"

"No Stacey, I don't think he is" I said eyeing Morelli.

"That's great. Take care Steph" she said then disconnected.

"Well that's an interesting development" I said to the room in general.

"I'll go get the PC and be back within the hour" Morelli said standing. "Bye Steph" he said to me with a wink before turning and walking out the door.

"Ass" Ranger and I both muttered to ourselves.

"We'll deal with the computer when it gets back here. For now, let's get back to the plans for tonight" Ranger said to the guys who remained.

Ranger picked up the house phone and dialed an extension I didn't see. He asked whoever was on the other end of the line to come into the conference room.

A minute or two later a man walked into the room who I had never seen before. He was close to six feet tall and well muscled. He was wearing a tight long-sleeved black pullover and nicely fitting black jeans. His eyes were brown and his hair was dark brown and hung almost to his shoulders. He had classic Latino good looks and although his skin was a shade or two lighter than Ranger's the resemblance was striking.

I must have been staring because I felt Ranger press my chin up to close my gaping mouth.

Ranger chuckled then stood to greet our guest.

"It's good to see you Marco" Ranger said with a genuine smile.

"Yeah, it's been too long. You look good brother" Marco said with an equal smile.

They shook hands and did the manly pat on the back type of hug then turned their attention to me. Ranger took my hand and helped me to my feet, wrapping an arm tightly around my waist pulling me to his side.

"Stephanie, I'd like you to meet my brother Marco" Ranger said.

Ranger's brother! Ohmigod! I'm meeting Ranger's brother!

Marco took my right hand in his and brushed a soft kiss across the back of my knuckles.

I felt myself blush and mumbled a quick "Nice to meet you" as I took my hand back.

"So you're the famous Stephanie" Marco said with a stunning smile. "I've heard so much about you, not from Carlos of course, but from the guys. I take it you are the reason for the goofy smile on my brother's face."

I didn't know what to say about that so I didn't say anything.

Ranger kissed my temple softly and just continued to smile.

"Babe, Marco works at Rangeman Boston, that's how he knows these jokers" Ranger said cocking his head at the Merry Men. "Marco is here to deliver our new toys" Ranger said guiding us back into our chairs. Ranger and I were sitting at the head of the table. Marco took a seat to my right placing a hard black briefcase on the table in front of him.

It felt weird sitting between Ranger and Marco. I was just about overwhelmed by their male presence. I took a deep breath and tried to pay attention.

"I brought three different types of personal tracking devices" Marco said flipping open the top on the briefcase.

"This is the first one he said" pulling out a silver looking woman's watch. "This unit gives us the option of constant tracking or periodic spot tracking which would check your location at predetermined intervals. It's a very reliable device and still a functioning watch. The downside of this model is that your perp could make you take it off and of course then it is of no use at all" Marco said placing the watch back in the briefcase.

I wasn't wearing a watch the first time Scrog took me but he did take away my cell phones.

"The second option is this" he said placing a postage stamp sized chip on the table. It was about as thick as the cardboard cover of a matchbook.

"This is meant to be sewn into clothing or a handbag. It's virtually undetectable when sewn into a seam or the tags of a garment A small watch battery needs to be sewn in with it. Given that your perp required you to change your clothes in the past, this may not be the best choice" Marco said looking at me. I gave him a nod of agreement. It was starting to sink in that this is really going to happen and I am going to be counting on a little piece of equipment ultimately for my survival.

Ranger placed his arm across the back of my chair and started stroking my neck and shoulder absently. I felt my muscles relax as he soothed away some of my stress. I wasn't just going to rely on the tracker ultimately I realized, Ranger and the guys would be equally as vital to my survival.

"This is our third option" Marco said placing a small black box about the size of a ring box on the table in front of me.

He reached into the briefcase and took out a pair of rubber gloves putting them on. He flipped open the small box to reveal a tiny object that looked part silver and part see-through.

Marco carefully removed the tracker from the box and held it between two fingers. It was about ¼ of an inch across and looked to be about the thickness of a dime.

"This little baby here" Marco said beaming like a proud Papa "is brand new technology. This tracker is actually implanted under the skin, sort of like the Home Again microchips they implant in dogs and cats only much more useful. This tiny thing is capable of transmitting a constant GPS signal. What's so genius about this unit is that it doesn't require an external power source like the other models do. It's the first of its kind. Never before has there been an implantable tracker that didn't require a battery."

I glanced at Ranger and saw that he was watching me closely for a reaction.

Implanted under my skin! Eww! I guess it is possible to have a tracker _inside_ of me after all. Shit Steph, what have you gotten yourself into this time? I opened and closed my mouth a few times trying to come up with something to say. I wanted to object but I thought that this might be our best chance.

"Implanted? Is that even safe?" I asked, my voice slightly higher than it should be as I tried to swallow down my panic. I cried like a baby when my mother took me to get my ears pierced and I don't really like needles or any sort of medical torture devices.

"It's made out of surgical grade materials just like a pacemaker or any other surgical implant" Ranger said looking at me seriously. I gazed back into his eyes and implored him to tell me more to reassure me.

"The truth is Steph, this unit hasn't been approved yet by the FDA for use in the United States. The US military is currently conducting clinical trials but from the research Marcos and I have done, and it was extensive, it appears to be not only safe, but also a very reliable option" Ranger said confidently. His voice and his obvious faith in the tracker eased my mind some.

"How did you get it then?" I asked him. I knew Ranger had connections but this seemed a bit extreme.

"I can answer that" Marco said. "I'm part of the Research and Development team who designed and executed it Steph. I work on contract for the US government" he finished again looking proud.

"Man, this is like some serious James Bond spy shit right here!" Javier said excitedly, eyes wide.

I couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped me. He was right, it really was pretty impressive, even to me who knew Ranger always had cool gadgets. A wave of laughter filtered around the room.

Morelli walked in as we composed ourselves. He had the PC tucked under his arm and he was looking at us like we were insane.

"What did I miss?" he asked.

"Nothing important" I said. "How'd it go with Stacey?"

"It went fine. Stacey's _fine_, I didn't remember her being so hot but damn and she gave me her phone number so we can go out sometime" Morelli said.

"Eck, too much information Morelli" I said with a grimace.

"Oh come on Steph, you want to talk about too much information? At least you don't have to look at pictures or watch us make out in person" Morelli said in good humor, a grin on his lips. Good point I thought.

Morelli looked at Marco and then at Ranger, then back at Marco and finally back at me.

"Morelli this is Ranger's brother Marco. Marco this is Detective Joe Morelli, Trenton PD Homicide" I said by way of introduction.

Marco looked amused as he reached out and shook Morelli's hand.

"Marco why don't you and Morelli go with Lester and see what you guys can get from the web history on the PC from the library. Marco, we'll let you know what Steph decides about the trackers" Ranger said. "Everyone else prepare for tonight. We'll meet again here at 21:00" Ranger said.

"What should I do?" Javier asked.

"I have an apartment upstairs you can use. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be out in the open until it's closer to go time" Ranger said.

"Yeah, sounds good. I could use a nap" Javier said with a yawn. "I dunno how you guys do this shit all the time. I'm beat."

"One of the guys will show you upstairs and they'll give you a change of clothes incase you want a shower" Ranger said.

"Thanks Ranger. I mean it, for everything. You're a'ight man" Javier said.

He and Ranger did some fancy handshake thing then Manny and Javier followed the rest of the guys out of the conference room. Only Tank remained.

"Steph, I think what you're doing is really brave. I just wanted to let you know" Tank said with a smile picking up the black briefcase Marco had left behind and leaving the room.

I stood up and stretched hands high over my head, back arched. It felt good to stretch after sitting for so long.

I looked at Ranger and saw his dark eyes looking into mine.

Ranger reached out and gathered me into his arms. I snuggled against him. He smelled yummy and he was hot and hard, everywhere. I pulled back to look at him.

"How did _that_ happen?" I asked him thinking that nothing remotely sexual had happened since this morning.

"I think it was the stretch" Ranger said nibbling on my ear.

I sighed. What Ranger was doing felt really nice but I was having a hard time getting turned on with all that had happened today and what was planned for tonight.

"Can we go upstairs for while?" I asked Ranger.

"Yeah Babe. I think we both could use some downtime before tonight" Ranger said running his hands over my back snuggling into my hair.

I tightened my arms around him and enjoyed the comfort he gave me for another minute before Ranger pulled back and led me out of the room with an arm around my shoulders.

"Ranger," I said once we stepped off the elevator into the 7th floor hallway, "I'll agree to have the GPS device implanted today if you'll agree to have it removed as soon as this is done. I have no desire to have my movements tracked for the rest of my life" I said looking at him seriously.

A smile spread across Ranger's face and I knew right away that I'd made the right decision. "Of course Babe. Believe it or not, I would never ask you to be tracked for the rest of your life and I hope that there will never be reason again for either of us to need a tracking device like that" Ranger said opening the door and ushering me inside.

"Let's have a shower and then I'll have Marco come up and put it in. It will only take a few minutes and it doesn't hurt much, it mostly just feels weird." I looked at him and he understood my unasked question. "I used a similar device as part of a trial a while back. That's why I'm so comfortable suggesting it for you Steph."

"Thanks" I said leaning in for a kiss.

An hour later, freshly showered with microchip implanted on the back of my neck just below my hairline, Ranger and I were snuggled under the covers in his wonderful sheets.

We didn't make love, at least not in the biblical sense. We just held each other and kissed and talked and caressed. We both knew full-well that tonight was not going to be easy and that there was a good chance that before all was said and done, someone could be hurt or killed.

_A/N – Well this chapter wound up being much longer than most of my chapters but I figure at this point content matters more than word count. I hope that you have enjoyed the build up so far. Building up to the climax can be just as enjoyable as the climax itself as you know. Thanks for reading and for all the great reviews. Hugs, Heidi_


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I make no profit. Go Janet Evanovich!**

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_An hour later, freshly showered with microchip implanted on the back of my neck just below my hairline, Ranger and I were snuggled under the covers in his wonderful sheets._

_We didn't make love, at least not in the biblical sense. We just held each other and kissed and talked and caressed. We both knew full-well that tonight was not going to be easy and that there was a good chance that before all was said and done, someone could be hurt or killed. _

_**Chapter Twenty-three**_

"Ok, Babe, you're good" Ranger said as he finished tucking the dummy tracking device into my cleavage and straightened my shirt.

I took a deep breath and looked at myself in the full-length mirror in the dressing room. I was wearing a pair of blue jeans, black Timberland hikers, a black turtle neck and three coats of mascara for courage. I decided to leave my hair down because I felt like my mess of curls would provide extra protection for the tracking device on my neck or at least keep it hidden further.

Ranger and I were going to meet Tank and Lula at Shorty's under the guise of grabbing a beer and some pizza after a tough day. It was Friday night so I didn't think it would seem unusual to Scrog if he was out there watching.

I looked at Ranger nervously smoothing out imaginary wrinkles from my shirt.

Ranger returned my gaze steadily, his almost smile on his lips. "You look great Steph. Try not to worry, we've got your back Babe. You won't see us, but we'll just be a few steps behind you." Of course it was the few steps that worried me.

"Are you sure the turtle neck's okay? What if I have to charm Scrog? Maybe I should wear something low-cut or, or, maybe those leather pants that show half my ass" I said in all seriousness.

Ranger looked me up and down appreciatively. "Stephanie, you could charm the Pope wearing a trash bag. You look sexy, trust me" he said reaching out a hand, tucking a curl behind my ear with his fingertips, his thumb stroking my jaw line. He leaned in slowly, kissing me tenderly for long moments. I returned his kiss, sliding my tongue across his, wrapping my arms around his waist, fisting the back of his shirt with both hands.

When Ranger pulled back I looked deeply into his eyes seeing so much emotion shining through. I could drown in those eyes, if only…if only I wasn't preparing for a showdown with Edward Scrog.

"I'm doing the right thing" I said in an attempt to remind myself as much as Ranger.

"Yeah Babe, _we're_ doing the right thing and we're doing it the right way. We've got a plan, we've got a tracking device that can't be removed and we've got back-up, lots and lots of back-up. There's always risk involved but we're doing it the best way possible" Ranger said pulling me tighter into his arms, pressing his face against the top of my head, nestling my head into the crook of his neck and shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him fully and held him tight to me just soaking up his strength.

After a moment I raised my head shooting Ranger my best look of resolute determination. I nodded firmly once "Let's do this" I said with all the bravado I could muster.

"Proud of you Babe" Ranger said gracing me with a beautiful genuine smile. He rubbed a couple of vigorous circles on my back, gave me a hard smacking kiss on the lips then threaded our fingers together as we headed out the door.

------------

We were all gathered downstairs in the conference room at 8:00.

Javier and his "gang banger" buddies had already left to skulk around and "steal" the car that Roy had planted on Stark Street earlier.

Ranger and I were standing near the head of the big conference table. There were now maps hung along one wall with areas marked in red.

Marco went to stand near the maps and cleared his throat.

Everyone sat and focused their attention on him.

Ranger pulled my chair closer to his and threaded our fingers together laying them in his lap. I smiled a tight nervous smile at him. He raised our joined hands, brushed a kiss across my knuckles and with a squeeze returned them to his lap.

"Morelli, Santos and I went through the hard drive from the library computer. Morelli was able to determine by speaking to Ms. Farnsworth that she witnessed the subject of interest use that particular computer each time she saw him in the library.

The internet history from today is about what we expected to find. There were several hits on Mapquest and Google Earth. This person, let's assume that it's Edward Scrog, focused those map searches on areas starting in downtown Trenton near the library and heading west. There were detailed street maps of West Trenton as well as terrain maps in the vicinity of Washington Crossing National Park. He also looked at a map given out by the Parks & Recreation department detailing hunting and logging roads and trails in and around the park. The same sites were visited several times over the last four months. He printed each of these maps" Marco said using his hand to indicate the maps hung on the wall.

Marco paused for a moment allowing time for questions. When none came he continued. "We know that Scrog was in that area before. He hit Ranger here" Marco said indicating a red dot on one of the maps. "Ranger was later found here" he said pointing to the location of the barn on a different map. "What we don't know is where Scrog might be staying or holding Paula. The parks department has stepped up patrols within the park looking for anything suspicious but they haven't found anything. There are some private residences in that area but they are few and far between. There are less than a dozen within a few miles of there." Marco locked eyes with Ranger and they had a silent conversation. Marco then took a seat at the table.

Lester stood up picking up a sheet of paper. He locked eyes with me and I felt myself blush at the memory of standing in front of him naked this morning. God was it just this morning? I blushed even more as I remembered his offer. He dropped me a quick wink and a smile before speaking.

"We found dozens of searches in the history using Google and local news outlets to research Stephanie and Ranger. We also found search requests, though fewer, on Morelli and members of the Plum family which yielded little information.

The results for Steph were mostly news articles related to her adventures in bounty hunting. Scrog printed all of the articles that contained pictures including a picture from Steph's wedding announcement that ran several years ago" he said looking at me again. My stomach got icky at that thought but I took a deep breath and pushed it away.

"Ranger doesn't keep much of an online presence so all Scrog managed to find and print was a couple of articles about Julie's kidnapping. Scrog also ran a search of his own name on more than one occasion including the day after his escape from Trenton State. He printed everything he could find on himself" Lester said with a shake of his head. Friggin pathetic.

Lester sat down and Morelli began to speak from his seat. What is this group presentation day or something?

"I got some more information back on Sherry Sutherland's autopsy" he said.

Ranger shot Morelli a dark look. "I don't think we need to discuss that now Morelli" Ranger said firmly.

I squeezed Ranger's hand and was about to say it's OK when Morelli spoke again.

"Yes, we do. The lab found traces of explosives in Sherry's hair and on her body. I think it's likely that wherever Scrog is hiding, he's got explosives and probably plans to use them" Morelli said.

I sucked in a breath as Javier's words came back to me '_Dude said anyone found his place in the woods, he'd go out with a bang, nah a BIG bang'_. Shit.

"Scrog told me he learned how to make bombs at the library when he was holding me and Julie hostage. The bomb he strapped to me was the first bomb he ever made he said." I sat for a moment, silent in thought. "This doesn't change anything as far as I'm concerned" I said looking around the room.

"Shit Steph, you're just a crazy as he is" Morelli said indicating Ranger with a toss of his head.

"Maybe" I said. Hell, I was starting to think I might not be totally sane. "I'm going in anyway. Scrog's going down no matter what" I said seriously.

"I don't like the sound of that Steph. You best not have any stupid ideas floating around in your head. You need to make sure you're safe" he said through gritted teeth.

"And the best way for me to be safe is to have Scrog out of the picture" I said with more calmness than I felt.

"This isn't going to get us anywhere" Ranger said. "If you want out Morelli, there's the door."

Morelli took a deep breath. "Yeah you wish don't you" Morelli said then slipped his cop face on. "The initial toxicology report shows large amounts of the sedative Haldol in her system. It's likely that's what the injection marks were from.

Carl and Big Dog went door to door in your building today and got lucky. Mrs. Karwatt next door was having trouble sleeping last night. She said that around 3:00 this morning she heard a car in the lot and thought it was strange so she looked out the window. She said she saw a man who she believed to be "your friend"" Morelli said making air quotes. "Mrs. Karwatt said he was half carrying, half dragging an apparently drunk "Stephanie" out of a black car and into the building. She said the man was wearing a black jacket and baseball hat so she didn't get a good look at his face but she was pretty sure it was Ranger" Morelli said.

"How did they get into my apartment?" I asked confused.

"Mrs. Karwatt said she was peeking out the peephole in her door when they got upstairs and it looked like he had a key in his hand." Morelli sighed. "I left my key on your hall table the morning that you found the note from Scrog in your apartment, but I didn't notice if it was missing this morning. Did you?"

I shook my head no.

"It wasn't on the hall table" said Lester "I'm sure of it."

"Did you find out anything else from the neighbors?" Ranger asked.

"No, no one heard anything else. Mr. Wolesky went out around 7:00 and didn't remember seeing a black car in the parking lot" Morelli said.

"Anything else?" I asked him. I just wanted to move on.

Morelli shook his head no.

"Ok then. You all have your instructions. Roll out" Ranger said standing, and helping me up, his hand still clutching mine.

Morelli walked over to me and before I could blink he had his arms wrapped tightly around me, his cheek pressed against mine.

"Don't do anything stupid Steph" he said softly into my ear. "He isn't worth it." I wasn't sure if he was talking about Scrog, or Ranger. "I'll be out there with the rest of them. Be careful" he said kissing me on the forehead. He nodded once at Ranger and then walking toward the door. Ranger's grip had tightened on my hand at Morelli's touch but he loosened it as Morelli walked away.

"You too Joe" I said. He turned and gave me a nod and a tight smile then disappeared out the door.

Lester stood from his seat and walked over to us. "We'll be one step behind you honey, don't worry" he said and tweaked my nose with a smile.

"Thanks Les" I said back with a smile.

The rest of the guys called their goodbyes and good lucks as they filed out, leaving only Ranger, me, Marco and Tank in the conference room.

I noticed Marco watching me, an odd expression on his face. I swung my eyes over to him and smiled.

Marco looked a little embarrassed that he was caught staring but recovered quickly.

"You really are something Stephanie Plum. The guys told me you were…unique, but they didn't do you justice" Marco said with a warm smile.

"Um…thanks, I think" I said not knowing if unique was actually a good thing or not.

"Don't get any ideas little brother, she's mine" Ranger said without much humor. Little brother, I thought. I wondered how old Marco was. He's got a pretty impressive work history for such a young guy. "He's a year and three days younger than me Babe" Ranger said wrapping his arm around me and pulling me to him.

"Hey, I wouldn't dare Carlos" Marco said holding his hands up in surrender. "I never thought I'd see the day you'd be so bent out of shape because of a woman. It's about damn time" he said smacking Ranger on the arm. He turned to me. "I have faith in the tracker Steph. We won't lose you" Marco said. He nodded to Ranger and Tank then walked out the door.

"You guys ready to hit the road?" Tank asked from his seat. "Lula's gonna meet us downstairs in about ten minutes" he said looking at his watch. "She had study group tonight but she'll be here before nine."

"We'll meet you in the garage in five" Ranger said.

"Break a leg Steph" Tank said to me with a wink.

"Hey you too" I said back with a smile. "Oh wait you already did that didn't you?"

I heard Tank chuckle as he walked out the door.

I looked at Ranger. "Are you ready for this?" I asked softly.

"As ready as I'll ever be Babe. Let's do this" he said with a smile.

"I just need to hit the ladies room on the way out" I said to him.

We walked down the hall hand in hand.

"I'll be right back. I need to stop in my office Babe. Take your time" Ranger said stepping away.

I walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. It was a one unit bathroom with nice taupe paint and cream colored fixtures.

I took care of business then went to wash my hands. I looked at myself in the mirror as I dried.

"You got this Steph. Scrog is messing with the wrong bitch" I said out loud putting on my best bitch face. I thought Lula would be proud of me for sucking it up and calling out my inner bitch.

Ranger greeted me in the hall with a warm smile. I smiled right back and with his hand in mine we went to meet Tank and Lula.

"Ready Babe?" Ranger asked on the ride down in the elevator.

"I'm ready" I said confidently.

------------

Shit. Could someone _please_ turn off the ringing in my ears! Ouch!

I opened my eyes and blinked a few times trying to get my surroundings into focus. Nope, still dark. I tried to move my arms and realized they were tied together in front of me. Huh?

Wait a minute…pitch dark, bumping motion, smell of spare tire. It all came back to me like a punch in the gut. I'm in a trunk, Javier's trunk, going to meet Edward Scrog.

OK, Steph, don't panic. This is all part of the plan remember? Still, why do people always feel the need to lock me in small confined spaces? I can't even remember how many times I've been locked up like this.

Hell, I've got time to waste. I thought back. The Slayers locked me in Big Blue's trunk when they kidnapped me from Val's baby shower. Constantine Stiva locked me in a friggin' casket and then in that kitchen cabinet. And of course Scrog, he locked me in a trunk before. Scrog. Sigh. I can't believe I'm doing this out of my own free will.

Focus Steph, get yourself together. Remember the plan and do what you have to do. Keep Ranger safe, no matter what. Take Scrog down, _no matter what_.

I wiggled my fingers and toes and did circles with my ankles trying to get the circulation running back through my body. At least my legs weren't tied together.

As I continued to ride in the dark trunk I fought to keep myself calm.

I subconsciously moved my hands to touch the back of my neck with my fingertips. I knew that the tracking device was there and that Ranger wouldn't be far behind us.

Ranger. Thinking of him gave me an overwhelming reminder of why I agreed to do this. Edward Scrog wanted to be Ranger. For that to happen, he needed to kill Ranger first. He can't get the chance to kill Ranger. That's why I'm lying in a dark trunk on my way to a date with a psycho.

I'm not doing this to get Paula out safely, at least not as much as Javier has given me credit for. This is personal. I'm doing this to get Edward Scrog out of my life once and for all.

The car thumped over a big bump in the road and I was lifted off of the floor and slammed into the trunk lid. When I came back down my thigh landed painfully on top of something hard and cylindrical. I maneuvered myself to get it out from under me and found that it was a medium sized MagLite flashlight. I flicked it on and blinded myself. Oops. I let out a string of expletives as I blinked to get my vision back. Once I could see again I shone the light around the trunk. I saw a tire iron fastened to the trunk wall and a set of jumper cables lay near my feet. I guess they wanted the car to appear to be a regular car.

I heard a cell phone ring from the interior of the car and wondered if it was Scrog. I knew that as long as Javier kept his phone Ranger and the Merry Men would be able to listen in on Scrog's instructions. I wasn't sure if that would be helpful or not given the rigmarole Scrog put _me_ through that time. The first thing he did was have me dump my cell phones and car. Of course, I wasn't carrying a hostage in the trunk either, that might limit the options some.

I felt the curls of panic starting to creep into my consciousness again. I lay back down on my side, this time facing toward the rear of the car and took some deep breaths trying to calm my nerves. It didn't work. The air was thick with the smell of tire and I felt my head start to swim. Shit. I need to stay focused. This is no time to black out!

I squeezed my eyes shut and took some deep breaths through my mouth while plugging my nose trying to get some air to my brain without the horrible rubber smell. After a few minutes I felt my head start to come back to me. I also felt the car make a turn and then glide to a stop. I clicked off the light but clutched it tightly to my chest. I could whack someone with it if I had to.

Javier killed the engine. I heard him exit the car and slam the door shut. I strained to listen for voices but I couldn't hear any. Cars were passing by and it sounded like the roads were wet. I had no idea how long we'd been on the road since I was out when we left, but I wanted out of this trunk, like now.

After a few minutes I heard the door open again, felt the car dip under Javier's weight and the door slam shut. The engine roared to life and we pulled away again.

Shit! I was REALLY hoping we had reached our destination.

I flicked the light back on and noticed that my iPod was hanging out of my coat pocket. That's just what I need to take my mind off of being in a trunk. Funny, I don't remember having it in my pocket. Ranger, it had to be him. He always knows what I need before I do.

I maneuvered the ear buds into each ear and switched the iPod on. I closed my eyes and let the music wash over me. I sucked in a breath as the lyrics sank in.

_When darkness turns to light _

_It ends tonight, it ends tonight_

_Just a little insight won't make this right_

_It's too late to fight, it ends tonight, it ends tonight_

That's right, no matter what, it ends tonight. I let the music carry me away. I think for first time ever, I found my zone.

I was so lost in my zone that I didn't realize the car had stopped. When the trunk lid suddenly flew open I was flooded in bright light. I was totally blinded by it.

"Hello _Babe_" I heard from close by, only it wasn't Ranger's warm voice, it was the nasally drawl of Edward Scrog.

_A/N – I am SO sorry for taking such a long time to update. It's a long story why it took so long but I am just glad that another chapter is done. Woohoo! I have to thank a few people for helping me over the last 5 weeks whether through encouragement, being a sounding board, kicking my ass or giving me some good old southern "tough encouraging love". Thanks Feather, Amanda, Lindsay and Abbi. Thanks to all of you who have asked for more along the way. Babes Rule! Hugs - Heidi_


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I make no profit. Go Janet Evanovich!**

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

_**Previously**_

_That's right, no matter what, it ends tonight. I let the music carry me away. I think for first time ever, I found my zone._

_I was so lost in my zone that I didn't realize the car had stopped. When the trunk lid suddenly flew open I was flooded in bright light. I was totally blinded by it._

"_Hello Babe" I heard from close by, only it wasn't Ranger's warm voice, it was the nasally drawl of Edward Scrog_

_**Chapter Twenty-four**_

I knew to expect Scrog but the sound of his voice still froze the blood in my veins. I had the MagLite under my arm against the side of my body, out of sight. A shadow leaned over me and the next thing I knew I was being yanked from the trunk by the front of my jacket. I was lifted up and unceremoniously thrown to the ground. Holding my arms tight against my sides, I rolled, my bound hands clutched to my chest, finally coming to rest on my side. I blinked to adjust my eyes to the brightness of the room. Quickly I looked around taking in my surroundings. We were in a large garage, probably big enough to hold a dozen cars or more. The floor and walls were not that of a typical garage. This place was much fancier with black and white tiles on the floor and cherry paneling covering the walls. There were several panels of vertical blinds that covered what I assumed were large windows. I saw a few vehicles covered by tarps and two cars that were uncovered, the Toyota Camry Javier had taken me in and a black Lexus sedan.

Edward Scrog was standing about six feet away from me, his back against the rear end of the Camry. He was wearing green Army fatigues and his face was painted to match the camouflage. He no longer had the goatee Stacey mentioned. His lips were curled into a sickening smile that made my stomach squishy.

I looked around frantically searching for any sign of Javier or Paula but I didn't see anyone else around. Oh shit, where are they?

I stayed flat on my side, the MagLite tucked between me and the floor. I looked Scrog in the eye and raised my chin in defiance.

"Fancy meeting you here" Scrog said with a chuckle. He had an excited gleam in his eyes and was bouncing from foot to foot with barely contained energy.

I looked him up and down visibly. "Is this a costume party? My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail." I said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm dressed all wrong."

The smile left his face immediately and he took three quick steps to stand above me. I wanted to flinch but I held my ground, my eyes locked with his. For a moment I thought he would kick me but he didn't.

Edward Scrog stood over me, his black psycho eyes piercing mine. I was having trouble taking him seriously with the damn war paint on. It wasn't as funny as seeing him in a dress but it was damn close.

His chest was heaving with restrained anger, his nostrils flaring. His mouth was pursed and drool was collecting at the corners.

"Get up" he ground out, his rage obvious.

"Maybe I _could_ if my hands weren't tied" I said an air of "duh" in my tone.

"You can get yourself up, quit your bitching" he said clearly not amused. "Besides if you think I'm gonna untie you, you must think I'm a real idiot."

I didn't think Scrog wanted to hear that I did think he's an idiot, so instead I made a production of rolling myself over onto my stomach facing away from him. Although this put me in a vulnerable position, I needed to turn out of his line of sight.

While I pretended to struggle to get myself upright, I wiggled the MagLite in front of me and two handed-it as I raised up onto my knees, my back to Scrog.

"Jesus Christ, you're fucking pathetic" Scrog said and I sensed him stepping closer, preparing to help me up.

When I felt him bending down close I spun from the waist and swung the MagLite like a Louisville Slugger catching Scrog on the side of the head just above his ear with a sickening crack.

His head flew back from the force of the impact and he fought unsuccessfully to stay on his feet while I struggled to get to mine.

As he went to the ground on his knees, I scrambled around behind one of the covered cars, eyes wide trying to come up with a plan. There were four large bay doors along the front wall of the garage. Naturally they were all shut tight.

I watched as Scrog righted himself, hanging onto the back of the Lexus to hold himself up. His head was bowed and there was blood dripping down his ear.

"You're gonna pay for that you stupid bitch" Scrog hissed through clenched teeth. He reached behind him and pulled something out of his waistband. I assumed it was a gun but I didn't hang around to find out. I ducked down low behind the car out of the line of fire.

I could hear Scrog breathing heavy. "Come out, come out where ever you are Stephanie" he said in a sing-song voice that reminded me of Ramirez. "Ain't no way you're getting out of here so you might as well just give it up."

I went down onto my hands and knees and crawled around behind another car trying to put some distance between us. It's not that easy to crawl with your hands bound in front of you but when you're desperate you can manage almost anything. Luckily Javier had some extra slack in the ropes. I rounded the nose of the car and stopped dead. There on the floor, lying on his side, face covered in blood, was Javier. He was bleeding from a gash above his left eye and also from his nose. His hands and feet were bound and I couldn't help but flashback to seeing Ranger lying on the floor in that barn looking much the same. I sat back onto my feet covering my mouth with my hands trying to quiet the sob that was escaping my lips.

I took some deep breaths trying to quiet the clanging in my head. Focus Steph! I couldn't tell if Javier was breathing so I leaned closer, my face just above his. I heard the quiet sound of breath softly escaping his parted lips. He was alive and I had to make sure he stayed that way.

I went up onto my knees to peer over the car in front of me but couldn't see Scrog anywhere. Oh shit! I spun around when I felt the air shift behind me. Edward Scrog was standing there about ten feet away, one hand pressed to the wound on his head, the other clutching something silver.

"Stay away from me you asshole!" I yelled. Scrog just stared at me, his eyes burning with fury. I was standing with my back to the car, Javier on the ground between the car and me.

I was wiggling my wrists trying to loosen the ropes enough to free at least one of my hands. "What the hell is your problem anyway? Get your own life already, for chrissake! You don't want to be Ranger anyway, he only eats salad and he spends way too much time exercising." They were almost free. Just a little further, I thought as I ignored the pain of the ropes cutting into my skin. There, my left hand was free! I met Scrog's gaze again and found him smiling a perverse smile at me.

"You're something else Sweetheart" Scrog said with a shake of his head, still smiling. "It's a real pity that you can't play nice. I could make you great, teach you a few things. You and me could be a couple of real bad-asses together. No one would be able to touch us."

Christ, this man is delusional, but I guess I already knew that.

"Fine. Let's get out of here then" I said calmly, crossing my arms over my chest. Even as the words left my mouth, they were a surprise to me.

"What?" Scrog said raising an eyebrow.

"I'll go away with you but we have to leave right now." Scrog just looked at me but didn't say anything. "We could go with your plan from last time, head to Mexico and disappear. We could work there as bounty hunters." I wanted to get Scrog outside where he would be exposed, with the hope that Ranger and the Merry Men were out there waiting to take a shot.

"You expect me to believe that all of a sudden you _want_ to go away with me? I ain't stupid ya know. I think we'll go with Plan B instead" Scrog said aiming the silver thing at me.

I turned away from him bracing for the bullets that were sure to come and immediately felt two stabs on the left side of my ass. _Taser_, I thought as my body started to tremble, electrical current coursing through me. I fell to the ground at Javier's feet unable to move a muscle.

Scrog stood over me his evil grin wider than ever. He reached into one of his pockets and came out with a large syringe. My eyes widened in fear as the realization hit me. Scrog was going to inject me and I was powerless to stop him. He moved on top of me, straddling my knees. Oh God, is _this_ what it was like for Sherry Sutherland? Is this what he did to her before he hurt then killed her?

I felt the needle plunge into my thigh but I couldn't move, couldn't do anything but stare in horror at the evil in Edward Scrog's eyes. He tossed the syringe aside and spread his body over mine. "I'm gonna have so much fun getting to know you _Babe_. This is fate I tell you and you know Stephanie, there's no stopping what's meant to be" Scrog whispered, his lips millimeters from mine. My eyelids grew heavy as I struggled to keep them open. Scrog's face became fuzzy as he stared down at me. I felt him press his cold, slimy lips to mine and wanted to recoil or to bite him, anything to make him stop, but I couldn't.

_I love you Ranger, I'm glad I got the chance to tell you so, _was my last conscious thought as the blackness carried me away.

---------------

"Uhhhhhnnnn" I heard a scratchy voice close to me. A minute later I realized the groan was coming from me.

My body felt rigid, muscles completely stiff and I couldn't open my eyes no matter how hard I tried. My mouth was drier than it had ever been. I worked my throat, swallowing, trying in vain to wet it

"Ah, the Princess is finally awake" Scrog said with a chuckle from very nearby.

I startled at the sound of his voice and a wave of cold terror washed over me as I realized I had no idea where I was and my body still didn't seem to work right. The last thing I remembered was the garage, the taser, the _shot_.

"Sit up and have a sip of water."

I licked my lips "can't" I whispered, my voice not fully working.

"I think I over estimated your weight when I dosed your injection or something" Scrog said. "I ain't a doctor ya know."

As I lay there I tried to take stock of my body and my surroundings. I wiggled my fingers and toes and I'm pretty sure they moved a little bit. The fabric below my hands felt cool and silky, definitely not a floor. My hearing seemed to be working fine. I could hear soft jazz music playing quietly nearby and the sound of fabric rustling as Scrog moved around the room. I heard water running in a sink in the distance and the squeak as the faucet was turned off. Soft, unhurried footsteps approached and then the surface I was laying on, presumably a bed, dipped down under Scrog's weight as he sat beside me.

I felt a cool, wet cloth touch my forehead and rest there for a moment before moving to brush gently over my cheeks and then wet my lips. Scrog smoothed the cloth over my eyelids and this time when I tried, they fluttered open.

He was leaning across my waist, one arm on the bed beside me. When my vision cleared I looked into his face trying to gage his mood. There was no sign of the maniac I had seen in him before. He had washed off the camouflage face paint and now wore a concerned, almost tender expression. He was wearing a tight black tank top and black pants. His body, while not as buff as Ranger's was nice in its own right. His dark hair was slicked back from his face and I could see the spot above his ear where I had hit him with the flashlight.

"There, that's better" he said with a genuine smile, placing the cloth back on my forehead. I experienced another nanosecond of confusion as I reminded myself that this was not Ranger. When Scrog took on this persona it wasn't hard to see how one might mistake him for Ranger at first glance.

"Where am I?" I whispered to him, trying to remain calm.

"You're in my bedroom, in my bed" Scrog said using a finger to brush a curl away from my forehead, the tender gesture a far contrast to the psycho I knew him to be. "I've waited _so_ long to have you here like this. The image is almost too much to bear" he said, his eyes growing dark with desire. He stroked my hair again and ran the back of his knuckles over my cheek brushing my lips before pulling his hand away looking at me with heat in his eyes.

Oh no, _that_ is not going to happen! I took a deep cleansing breath trying to figure a way out of this. Ok Steph, remember your power over him. Remember the plan. Focus on the goal, take Scrog down no matter what.

"Why did you want to bring _me_ here? I thought it was Ranger you really wanted."

"At first it was about Ranger, but from the first time I saw you, saw the way _he_ looked at you, I knew you were special, that you were the one for me. That makes sense of course because I'm supposed to _be _him" Scrog said with a gleam in is eyes.

Psychopathic logic I supposed.

My muscles were beginning to respond so I sat myself up and slid back against the headboard. It was then that I noticed I was wearing a white silky negligee, one of the items I had bought at Victoria's Secret. He must have taken it from my apartment. Scrog slid a little further down the bed towards my feet seemingly lost in himself as he openly stared at my chest through the thin fabric.

"I need the bathroom" I said swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. As I got my balance I looked around the room for the first time. We were in a large, lavishly furnished bedroom. The bed was a king sized cherry sleigh bed. There were large matching pieces of furniture around the room and intricate brocade drapes drawn closed over large windows.

There was an open doorway with the lights on, a bathroom. As I started toward it Scrog spoke.

"Stephanie?" I turned around to look at him. "Don't do anything stupid. I want this night to be special" he said locking eyes with me.

I turned back around and walked into the bathroom closing the door behind me. I tried to lock it but noticed the lock was broken. I really did need to go pee so I quickly used the toilet and washed my hands. I looked in the mirror and saw dark circles under my bloodshot eyes. My hair looked like I'd been struck by lightening. Scrog had to be a psycho. No one in their right mind would get turned on looking at me like this. I slid my hand to the back of my neck where the tracker was and wondered if Ranger and the guys were out there. Were they getting ready to bust in, waiting for the perfect moment? Had they already rescued Javier and his sister? Then a scary thought hit me. What if the electrical current from the taser interfered with the tracking device and they don't know where we are? No, I'm sure that isn't the case, Ranger knows how often I get juiced, he would have accounted for that.

I took a deep breath and walked back into the bedroom. Scrog was standing beside the bed. He had removed his shirt and was holding two champagne flutes. I noticed several candles burning throughout the room placed on almost every flat surface.

I took the glass he offered to me but didn't take a sip. I was afraid it might be drugged and I needed to stay alert. Scrog seemed to sense my dilemma so he grabbed my glass, took a swallow of champagne, then handed it back to me. I took a large sip and enjoyed the cool liquid wetting my parched throat.

"Don't worry, I ain't gonna drug you again sweetheart. I want you nice and responsive when I make you mine. I just know you're a hellion between the sheets" he said with a sick grin. I decided I didn't have anything _productive_ to say about that so I thought I'd better change the subject.

"How'd you get a fancy house like this?" I asked genuinely curious. Plus I wanted to keep him talking to buy the guys some more time and maybe get him to relax and trust me a bit, although he seemed pretty relaxed standing there with his shirt off.

"It's a funny story and just more proof that this is fate." He chuckled, tossing back the rest of his champagne. "One day I followed him out of Trenton and out past Washington Crossing Park. I wasn't sure where he was going but I got the sense that he made me following him so I turned off onto a private road just as he took a private road in the opposite direction. So I was driving down this road looking for a place to turn around when this older couple flagged me down. They couldn't believe what a coincidence it was to run into "Carlos". They'd been hoping to talk to him about keeping an eye on their place while they traveled for a year. Long story short, I told them there was no reason to hire Rangeman because I would be more than happy to keep an eye on the place myself while they were away. They gave me the keys, the security codes and cash to pay the utilities" he said shaking his head from side to side. "It was fate, I tell you."

"Wow that _was_ lucky. Did you ever find out where he was headed?" I asked him, wondering if we were near 'the house' Ranger had mentioned.

"Yeah" Scrog laughed again, "turns out he lives next door, I mean it's half a mile from here but he's the only other house out here. I never been inside his place, just went as close as I could without being picked up by his cameras. I would have loved to go there but even I know when to quit."

"So" he said setting down his champagne flute and taking a step toward me.

I took a step back and glared at him.

"Do you HONESTLY think that I'm gonna have sex with you?" I asked not disguising my disbelief?

His face which had been soft and gentle turned to contorted anger in a split second.

"I KNOW that you're gonna have sex with me Stephanie. The question is, are you going to do it willingly or am I going to have to drug you and take you?" He said breathing heavily through his clenched teeth.

"Excuse me? Drug me and _take_ me?" I shrieked. "Is that what you did to Sherry Sutherland, huh? Did she reject you when you propositioned her so you had to drug her and take _her_? I know what you did to her you sick fuck!"

Scrog took another step toward me stopping with his face inches from mine. "You don't know _nothin'_ about her! She was evil, I tell you. Killing her was the most humane thing to do, it always is when you're dealing with someone evil." He was panting hard now, his body humming.

I just stared at him thinking provoking him might _not_ have been such a good idea after all.

"You wanna know what her problem was?" He continued to pant. "She wasn't you" he said his dark eyes pinning me.

"So you _killed_ her? That doesn't make sense" I said taking a step back from him.

Scrog walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, running a hand over his face. I stayed where I was standing, about half way to the bathroom.

"I wanted everything to be perfect for you, so I needed to practice, to get good enough for you. I did lots of practicing with Carmen but then, when I didn't get you the first time around, I got rusty. I needed to practice some more so I could be ready for you, ya know, since you're so hot in the sack."

I wasn't really liking all this talk about me being so _experienced_ in bed, I mean I'm not Joyce Barnhardt for crissake!

"Anyway, I charmed Sherrie while I was in prison. We had sex in the laundry room and the infirmary a couple of times. After I escaped I showed up at her place. She wasn't happy to see me and told me to leave, so I drugged her and brought her here."

I looked at the bed and my upper lip curled of its own volition.

"I saved this room special for you and me. It's the best room in the house" he said reading my thoughts. "She was kept in the spare room downstairs."

"Anyway, when she woke she was still pissed off. I had dressed her in your clothes and put in some blue contacts that I had stashed away, but she still just wasn't you." He shook his head sadly. "I couldn't… ya know" he said looking embarrassed. "When she realized it, she went crazy. She was calling me names and laughing, _laughing _at _me_" he finished through gritted teeth. His nostrils were flaring, his anger returning. "So I _hit_ her. She was bent over laughing at me and I whacked her in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Shut her right up. She was out cold." Scrog's eyes were nothing more than slits, his mind obviously gone back to that place. "I tied her up and gave her half a dose of Haldol so she couldn't struggle, then I fucked her. I fucked her good with that bat, on and on for a long time." He had an evil smile on his face that made my stomach roll, his sickness apparent. "She woke up right after I started. She was crying and blubbering but I kept at it. I gave it to her _good_. Then I thought, what better to do than to leave her for you to find, since this all happened to her because of you, because I love you _so_ much that I can't get it up for no one else."

"Don't you _dare_ blame me for what you did! You're a fucking psycho, that's not my fault!" I yelled backing toward the bathroom door. I ran inside and slammed the door remembering too late that there was no lock. I looked around frantically and saw the stand-up toilet paper holder. It was metal and had a large, weighted base to keep it upright. I held it like a baseball bat and waited for Scrog to come after me. A moment later the door opened all the way. Scrog walked in, a large uncapped needle glimmering in his right hand.

"Well, I think it's obvious that you don't want to do this the easy way, so again we'll have to go with Plan B" he said taking a couple of steps towards me.

The bathroom was large with an open area in the middle between the claw foot tub and the vanity table. We circled around each other a couple of times, me wielding my toilet paper holder, him holding the syringe.

Sensing that Scrog wasn't going to make the first move and feeling impatient, I swung. Scrog easily sidestepped the blow and I lost my footing from the momentum of the swing. I stumbled but remained upright.

Scrog managed to get behind me and wrap an arm around my neck. He pressed his face to my head and spoke softly into my ear. "I'm sorry Babe. I wish things could have turned out differently but you're a bad girl" he hissed.

I knew I only had a second or two before he would drug me so I did the only thing I could think of. I still had the toilet paper holder in my hands and I swung it down and back through my legs until it came into contact with Scrog's crotch.

Scrog howled in pain and released me, dropping to his knees. The syringe slipped from his fingers as his hands automatically went to his package.

I saw the syringe lying on the floor a foot or so from him and saw my chance. I dove for it grabbing it and jamming in into Scrog's ass, pressing the plunger as he writhed in pain on the floor. He immediately grabbed me forgetting about his pain. He pulled me down on top of him, his hands tightening around my neck. He was squeezing hard enough to stop me from breathing. Just as my head started to swim his grip grew weak and his eyes fluttered closed.

I jumped back off of him sitting on the edge of the tub to catch my breath. _Damn, that's gonna leave a mark_ I thought as I scrambled past Scrog's limp body, out into the bedroom.

I grabbed the first shirt and pants I saw from the dresser and ran down the hall. I pulled the shirt over my head as I threw open each door I passed looking for Javier and Paula. There was no sign of them. I noticed a flight of stairs. I needed to check the rooms on that floor and then basement I guess but all I wanted to do was run out the door. I couldn't do that though, I hadn't achieved the goal.

When I got downstairs into the dining room I stuffed myself into the sweatpants. I glanced at the door to the outside but turned and went down the hall instead. I flung open the first door on the right which was a coat closet. I saw a pair of ladies snow boots and stuffed my feet into them incase I needed to make a run for it. I crossed the hall and opened the next door flicking on the light. I froze when I spotted Javier and Paula. They were both tied up and secured to dining room chairs with duct tape. Tape covered their mouths. Paula seemed to be either drugged or asleep or, oh God, dead. Javier locked eyes with me the minute the light came on. I looked at Paula and then back at him asking the question silently. Javier just shook his head, she wasn't dead.

I ran in and ripped the tape off his mouth and went to work trying to free him. It would take too long to do by hand and I didn't know how long it would be before Scrog woke up. I needed a knife.

"I'll be right back, I need a knife" I said to Javier, not waiting for a response.

I ran into the kitchen, grabbed a knife from the rack and carefully walked back into the room. I slit the tape from Javier's wrists and chest and was about to cut the ankle tape when I heard an alarm go off.

"That must be Ranger and the guys. I have to go check" I said handing the knife to Javier to finish the job and running back down the hall to the dining room.

I reached for the handle to the outside door and was about to pull it open when I heard Scrog hiss "I wouldn't do that if I were you, unless you want to blow this place sky high" he said.

I spun and looked at him wide-eyed.

I

"I've got all the entrances wired, anyone but me opens them, we all die." His eyes were bloodshot and he was covered in sweat. He was wearing a black t-shirt now and in one hand held a gun that was pointed right at me. In the other hand he held a grenade. Scrog looked at me with fury in his eyes. "We're going to the angels together no matter what" he said.

"I don't think so."

We both whirled around at the sound of Ranger's voice.

He was wearing black SWAT clothes and had a bazooka sized handgun in his hand trained directly on Scrog's forehead.

"Are you ok Babe?" he asked without taking his eyes off of Scrog.

"I'm fine, but I told you _not_ to put yourself in danger for me" I yelled.

"My life, my choice Babe" he said tossing my own words back at me. I saw his almost smile grace his lips and felt a surge of pride that he was mine.

"Aw, isn't that sweet. Hell, I'm glad to see you, makes my work that much easier" Scrog said turning his gun on Ranger. Ranger and Scrog both fired. I couldn't let Ranger get hurt. Without thinking I lunged for Scrog tackling him like a linebacker taking him to the ground. The gun flew from his hands but he held onto the grenade. I started pounding on him, two fisted, punching him in the face while I straddled his chest. I was grabbed by the back of my shirt and lifted off of Scrog and back across the room. Ranger pushed me behind him as he continued to back away from Scrog, his gun on him the whole time.

Scrog sat up, looked at us and with a sick smile on his face pulled the pin from the grenade and tossed the pin aside. He stood up and took one step toward us.

Out of nowhere Javier came flying at Scrog from behind. He grabbed Scrog around the chest and together they dove through the plate-glass window disappearing into the darkness of the night.

Ranger threw us to the ground and covered me with his body. A second later a loud explosion rocked the house, rattling the windows.

Ranger pulled back and helped me to sit up.

"Are you ok?" he asked running his hands over my body as if checking for himself. He traced the marks on my neck from Scrog's hand with a frown.

"I'm fine. Are you alright?" I asked looking him over.

"I am now Babe" he said planting a soft kiss on my lips. "I'm sorry we couldn't get in sooner Steph, but Scrog really did have the whole place wired. It took Manny, Zero and Marco more than an hour to disarm everything." He let out a sigh and rested his forehead on mine. "I'm just glad you're safe" he said softly.

"I'm just glad _you're _safe" I said to him wrapping my arms around his waist.

We heard someone clear their throat and turned around to find Marco and Morelli standing with their arms crossed about ten feet away.

Ranger stood up and helped me to my feet pulling me tight against him, my back to his front.

"Hi guys" I said giving them a little finger wave. "What's new?"

Marco just shook his head with a smile.

"Well," Morelli said amusement on his face, "Scrog blew himself into almost as many pieces as Mama Macaroni. He won't hurt you any more." His look of amusement turned into something softer.

I was almost afraid to ask. "And Javier?"

"A paramedic is looking him over now but he seems to be ok. He's got some cuts and shrapnel on his arms but he managed to get mostly behind a small boulder before the grenade went off."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and relaxed back into Ranger's chest.

Bobby came walking down the hall carrying Paula. She was awake but still seemed groggy. I smiled at her and she smiled back then snuggled her head into Bobby's muscular chest. I'm sure she could use some comfort right about now.

"So what now?" I asked.

"The guys will handle it from here Babe. We're going back to Rangeman" Ranger said putting his arm around my shoulders and leading me toward the front of the house.

"Hey Steph? I'm glad that you're alright" Morelli said. "I don't know how you do it. I think you've got nine lives like a cat or something" he said shaking his head with a smile. "Stop by the station in a day or two and make your statements" he said to Ranger and me.

"Thanks Joe" I said and walked over to him hugging him tightly.

"Anytime Cupcake" he said with a smile.

"Let's go Babe. I don't know about you but I could use a shower and some time alone" Ranger said.

"Sounds perfect, but I need a donut too" I said with a smile.

_A/N – Well there you go. There will be another chapter or an epilogue or something sometime soon. Thank you all for your patience. I appreciate it!_


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I make no profit.**

**Untitled 13**

By Heidi

**_Previously_**

_"The guys will handle it from here Babe. We're going back to Rangeman" Ranger said putting his arm around my shoulders and leading me toward the front of the house._

_"Hey Steph? I'm glad that you're alright" Morelli said. "I don't know how you do it" he said shaking his head with a smile. "Stop by the station in a day or two and make your statements" he said to Ranger and me._

_"Thanks Joe" I said and walked over to him hugging him tightly._

_"Anytime Cupcake" he said with a smile._

_"Let's go Babe. I don't know about you but I could use a shower and some time alone with you" Ranger said._

_"Sounds perfect, but I need a donut too" I said with a smile._

**_Epilogue_**

**Two Months Later**

I awoke with a start, heart pounding, eyes wide. My hair was soaked in sweat, curls stuck to my face. My legs were tangled in bedding while my bare back was exposed to the cool air of the bedroom. I lifted my face out of the pillow it had been buried in to listen. There was a noise, I was pretty sure of it.

"Good morning Babe," I heard from across the room.

I rolled over onto my back and rose up on my elbows to look in Ranger's direction. When I managed to blink the sleep from my eyes I found him leaning against the dressing room doorway buckling on his watch.

"I didn't mean to wake you." He paused. "I walked into the wall," Ranger said sheepishly coming to sit down on the bed next to me.

Ranger walked into a wall? _My_ Ranger? When I gave him a raised eyebrow he explained, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I was putting on my watch, walking across the dressing room and I saw your black boots on the floor and got… distracted." He lowered his voice to an intimate whisper. "You know the boots I mean Babe… the thigh-high ones…with the tall heel."

I felt my cheeks flush remembering the last time I'd worn _those_ boots.

Ranger slowly lowered his lips to mine. His mouth was warm and minty fresh. My lips parted on a sigh letting his tongue slip between them in a hot, drugging kiss. He threaded one hand behind my neck and with the other caressed my bare breasts with a gentle touch. I traced the length of his arm with my fingertips enjoying the feel of his muscles beneath my touch.

After a few long moments he pulled back.

"I have a staff meeting downstairs in a half hour," he said his hand stroking my chest and belly.

"How long was I asleep?"

He brought his hand up to caress my cheek and brushed a sweaty curl away from my face.

"Only about twenty minutes" he said with a soft, lazy smile full of affection. When he smiled at me like that I couldn't help but smile back.

We had woken up at five-thirty this morning to Ranger's alarm clock. Instead of heading down to the gym for a workout we decided to stay in bed for a workout of another variety. We made love for close to an hour before falling into a sweaty, tangled heap on the bed. My heart stuttered in my chest at the memory. I shook my head slightly to chase away the sexy thoughts. Ranger had a meeting after all. Wait.

"Should I come down with you?"

"Well it _is_ a staff meeting and you _are_ a Rangeman staff member." His voice took on a conspiratorial tone. "Of course, if you'd rather stay here and rest up, you have the boss' permission. I hear he's got plans for you later."

"Nah, I'll get ready and come down. Don't want the guys to talk," I said with a wink. I leaned up, gave Ranger a kiss and hopped out of bed headed for the bathroom.

Things had really slowed down at Vinnie's. No one was jumping bail and that meant I wasn't making much money. Ranger asked me to come back to work part-time for Rangeman. He said he needed someone to partner up with the new guy, and I needed a more steady income, so I accepted.

I was shaved, washed, shampooed and conditioned by the time Ranger came into the bathroom to check on me. I shut off the water and stepped out of the shower and into the soft, fluffy towel he held outstretched in his hands. He wrapped it around me folding me into his arms. With a kiss on the forehead he took a step back.

"There's a cup of coffee on the vanity for you and breakfast is waiting in the kitchen." Ranger looked at his watch. "You've got 17 minutes, Babe."

"Aye-aye Captain" I said snapping him a salute.

"Wise-ass" he said over his shoulder as he left the room.

Ten minutes later I was washing the last of my bagel down with coffee at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. I was dressed in the full Rangeman uniform, gun and ID badge included. I was going all official today since there was a staff meeting. My face was moisturized and lashes coated with mascara, but my hair was pulled back into a ponytail under a Rangeman ball cap. Not a lot _I_ can do with my hair in five minutes.

I set down my coffee mug quickly. "Time?"

Ranger chuckled and looked at his watch. "Four minutes to spare, Babe. I'm impressed" he said with a grin. "That means four extra minutes of alone time" he said spinning my stool around and nuzzling my neck.

------------

I took my seat at the table next to Ranger and glanced around the conference room. The room was full of Merry Men today, Tank, Hal, Cal, Bobby, Lester, Woody, Ram, Manny, Zero and the newest member of the Rangeman family, Javier.

Ranger said any man who would throw himself out a window on top of a psycho with a grenade without getting paid just to protect me, a woman who punched him in the face the first time he met, is Rangeman material. We all agreed. Javier working at Rangeman fulfilled the job-training requirement of his release from jail which was an added bonus.

My gaze met Javier's and a smile spread across his face.

_Paula spent a couple of days at Woodview Medical Center under Jason's care. She was treated for dehydration and the after effects of spending days under amateur sedation. She's seeing a therapist to deal with the emotional trauma from the ordeal. None of us knows exactly what Edward Scrog did to her, but we know that it was bad. I had a hard time coping with the guilt at first. I felt like it was my fault that she's suffering. Surprisingly it was Paula herself who helped me to get past the guilt._

_Ranger paid all of Paula and Javier's hospital bills. He told them it was the least he could do for them after the role Javier played in Scrog's takedown but I think maybe it was his way of getting past the guilt._

_I met Paula for coffee a few weeks ago. She had just come from signing up for her college courses and she seemed really happy. She couldn't stop thanking me for what Ranger and I have done for her and Javier. I kept telling her it wasn't me but she said that I'd done more for Javier than anyone else in his whole life. I'm guessing she didn't mean my kicking his ass but since I haven't done much else for him who knows? Ranger insisted on including Paula on Javier's Rangeman medical insurance plan for as long as she remains in school. Ranger may be a real badass but he has a heart of gold._

Ranger's hand on my knee drew my attention back to the present and I quickly realized everyone was looking at me and waiting for me to say something only…I didn't know what. I hadn't been paying attention. Javier came to my rescue.

"That won't be a problem, right Steph? For us to help Cal and Hal on surveillance this afternoon?"

"Oh…no, no problem. I don't have any skips as of right now" I said shooting Javier a thankful glance.

The meeting moved on to status updates on open cases. Since I didn't have any open cases I found my mind drifting again.

_After the dust settled from the Scrog mess Ranger and I took some time off. We spent a solid week just relaxing at the house like Ranger promised. I'm not sure what I expected the Batcave to be like exactly but it's even better than I could have imagined. The house is a large natural colored wooden home built into the middle of a thick forest. The private road leading to it is a mile of packed gravel that snakes around the existing landscape and trees that have been there probably for hundreds of years. The driveway and the house were designed to compliment and harmonize with the nature around it so despite the size, the house doesn't look intrusive. Somehow out there in the middle of all that nature, the house fits in perfectly._

_Inside, the décor is similar to the apartment at Rangeman, lots of earth tones and a mix of modern and antique furniture. Very Zen. There are many large windows and skylights to the point where it almost feels like you're living outdoors with the trees and open sky around you. This being Ranger's house, of course, there are lots of high-tech elements. At the push of a button shades come down between the layers of bulletproof glass giving total privacy despite how much exposure the windows normally allow. There's a state-of-the-art security system complete with infrared cameras and motion sensors. Scrog was smart to stay far away from here._

_That Batcave has an indoor lap pool and a gym/yoga room where Ranger spent some time each day. I even joined him a few times. Man, you haven't lived until you've done naked Yoga with Ranger._

_I think what surprised me to most about the Batcave was the reading room. It shouldn't have surprised me, I guess, not really. Ranger talked casually about history the day we met and quoted Carl Sandburg not long after that, not to mention that he's the smartest person I've ever met. I just never pictured him as someone who would have a reading room. The reading room walls are lined with built-in floor to ceiling shelves that are loaded with books and these aren't just any books. There are fiction books, history books, military books, and leather-bound Shakespeare books. I saw books written in Spanish and books from all around the world. Ranger told me that he's read all of them except for a handful._

_The reading room is furnished with an antique cherry desk on one side and a large brown leather comfy chair with matching ottoman next to the fireplace on the other side. The first time I walked into the room and saw Ranger lounging in the chair, feet propped up, book in hand, I couldn't help but stop and watch him. With his blue jeans, warm socks and faded grey t-shirt he looked like any normal man relaxing at home on a winter evening with a good book and a roaring fire. Ok, so Ranger will never be totally normal but it's like Lula said, Ranger's way better than normal._

A knock on the door startled me from my memories. The door opened and in walked Joe Morelli. He nodded at Ranger who nodded in return and then Morelli looked at me and made a face somewhere between a smile and a grimace. _Oh great, now what?_ I noticed that he had a manila folder in his hand. His cop face came down as he took a seat at the table.

_Morelli and I have managed to become good friends just like we were hoping to. He started dating Stacey Farnsworth, the lady from the library, shortly after the Scrog case was wrapped up. It looks like things are getting pretty serious between them. Word around the Burg is Stacey cooks a mean meatloaf and has even earned Grandma Bella's seal of approval without so much as the threat of the eye. Ranger and I met Morelli and Stacey at Pino's a couple of weeks ago for pizza. We got quite a few nosy looks from the large crowd that gathered but if they were hoping for a show, they were sadly disappointed. It was a lovely evening._

_Mom seems to have finally accepted that Joe and I have both moved on. Ranger and I have been to dinner at my parents' a couple of times but we've made it a point not to commit to doing it weekly. Mom has been taking some night classes and is getting close to her nursing degree. Dad and Grandma are left to fend for themselves three nights a week. They pretty much avoid each other and Dad ends up at the lodge while Grandma and her friends go to the new Chinese Buffet on Roebling. They offer a senior discount after all._

_Ranger and I have made sure to take my parents out for dinner every couple of weeks. It's been great to see my mother get to relax and just enjoy the food for a change without having to be the hostess. I noticed her smile at the way Ranger and I are together, saw her face soften at the sight of our joined hands. Last week, Ranger and Dad went to fetch the car as we left Rossini's and Mom and I waited under the awning hiding from the rain. Mom leaned in close and said something that I wasn't sure I'd ever hear from her. She told me that she could see how happy Ranger and I are together and that despite our differences we just…fit. She told me that she's excited for our future, no matter what it holds in store for us._

"Babe," Ranger whispered close to my ear. "Since you shouldn't be smiling after the news from Morelli, I can only assume you weren't listening."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening" I said with an apologetic grin. "Can you say that again?" I asked Morelli. Ranger took my hand in his under the table and held it tightly. I turned to look at him and saw his face taut with tension. To a stranger he looked at ease, but I knew him better than that. I looked back at Morelli.

"The Trenton PD got a call from Dave Nelson at the funeral parlor this morning. When he and Scooter went to meet an incoming body around six they found a surprise waiting for them in the casket display room" Morelli said.

My stomach dropped and all kinds of nasty thoughts of bodies, fingers and severed genitals filled my head. I was almost afraid to ask. "What was it?"

Morelli slid an 8x10 photograph across the table to me.

I gasped when I saw it but I couldn't look away.

The photo was of a shiny black casket with a grey satin lining but it's what was _in_ the casket that had me dumbstruck. It was a life-sized cardboard photograph cut-out of me. The picture was taken while I was asleep on my back but when it was put into the coffin it was easy to believe I might have been dead.

"Was there a note?" I whispered looking at Morelli. I glanced at Javier who was sitting next to him for the first time since Morelli arrived. Javier's hands were balled into tight white-knuckled fists resting on the table, his jaw was clenched tight.

Morelli handed me a photo copy. It was a note with words pieced together with cut-out newsprint letters. The note was only two words long. **_I'm back._**

_A/N – That's all folks!!! Woohooo! It's finally done, my very first full-length fanfic! And hey, it only took 8 months, right, lol. I am so terribly sorry for the wait but I hope that you enjoyed it nonetheless._


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